Great Singapore Sale goes mobile and social: Why it matters to retailers

The annual GSS (Great Singapore Sale) is in full swing right now. As shoppers in Singapore as well as visitors from all around the region flock to stores to get their hands on bargain buys, it’s become one of the most important events on the calendar for the retail sector - generating about 20 percent of total sales turnover for retailers every year, according to the Singapore Retailers Association.

Launched in 1994, this year marks the GSS’ 20th anniversary. But a lot has changed since the GSS was kicked off two decades ago. The convergence of digital, mobile, local, and social technologies has transformed the way people and retailers connect – which presents plenty of ripe opportunities for retail marketers.

During the GSS in 2013, we found that shopping-related places, restaurants, and tourist attractions generated the highest numbers of check-ins on Facebook. As expected, the number of check-ins peak towards the weekend.

This just goes to show that people are always socially connected, even while they’re shopping or dining, so marketers need to have a presence in all of these spaces, especially on mobile. As people’s online and offline worlds collide, retailers in Singapore have more opportunity than ever to reach a large and engaged community of shoppers.

With the average Singaporean spending nearly two hours on their mobile each day*, retailers can stay top of mind by reaching customers where they are spending a significant amount of their time.

It’s also important for retailers to capitalise on seasonality by making GSS a tent pole for their marketing campaigns. They can engage people by delivering timely and meaningful content on their Facebook Page about new products, seasonal items, daily specials, or in-store events. They can then promote their most popular posts to increase reach.

But it’s not enough to just ensure you have an omni-channel presence. In addition, retailers need to create a personalised, engaging, and seamless experience for shoppers that integrate both online and in-store channels. Savvy retailers can run special promotions like Facebook Offers in conjunction with the GSS to drive in-store traffic, as people claim and share these Offers with their friends.

Through our research, we also found that a majority of the check-ins during GSS 2013 came from millennials (16-24 years old) and were predominantly female. While this may be no surprise to some, retailers can take advantage of this kind of data to precisely target audiences on Facebook based on location, demographic, interests, and behaviours.

At the end of the day, people expect seamlessness across devices, so personalising these experiences will give retailers the leverage they need to make the most of the GSS and keep their businesses at the front of shoppers’ minds the next time they’re out hunting for a bargain.

*Global Web Index, Singapore, Q1 2014