PETALING JAYA: The right number is worth a thousand words, what more in the year 2020.
A couple, who decided to hold their wedding banquet on Oct 10, 2020 (10/10/2020) after consulting a fortune teller, said it was a challenge to secure a venue and all other relevant vendors.
“We finally managed to make bookings for everything we needed, but it was not easy.
“From banquet venue to make-up artist and photographer, many were already engaged for other weddings.
“Most of the popular restaurants were already booked by September this year,” said the bride-to-be who only wants to be identified as Leong.
Leong, 30, and her husband-to-be would be sharing wedding anniversaries with her future in-laws.
“My fiance’s parents also got married on Oct 10. So the date is very meaningful to us,” she said.
Many other lovebirds prefer dates such as Feb 2, 2020 and Feb 22, 2020 for their wedding day.
“So far, we already have more than 100 couples who signed up for Feb 2, 2020. Feb 22, 2020 is not far behind,” said Thean Hou Temple marriage registration department officer Chow Soo Sin.
“We believe there will also be a lot of enquiries for ‘twin digit dates’ such as May 5, June 6, July 7 and so on. Malaysians like dates that are easy to remember.
“If it falls on a weekend, there will be even be a higher demand,” she said.
At present, Thean Hou Temple only takes reservations up to March next year.
A man, who wants to be known only as Farris, 30, planned to propose on one of the “catchy” dates next year, if he saves up in time.
“I don’t want to get into trouble for not remembering or celebrating special occasions.
“So I will definitely pick a date that is easy to remember. That will make me a good husband,” he quipped.
Even British newspaper Daily Mail got into the “numbers game”, quoting astrologer Carolyne Faulkner as saying that 20/2/2020 (Feb 20) would be a great date to marry next year.
And what about retailers or businessmen?
The jury is still out on whether they have any favourite dates next year.
Malaysia Retail Chain Association president Datuk Seri Garry Chua said retailers would most likely still focus on festive seasons.
“Our focus will always be on the festive seasons. That is usually when people would shop the most.
“We do not have information for next year yet but it may be a good idea for retail stores to run events or promotions on dates with catchy numerical patterns,” he said.
An officer involved in planning and strategies for marketing campaigns, who only wants to be identified as Lim, 34, said: “I don’t think we will see new ‘twin digit date’ sales period. E-commerce retailers are already saturating the calendar with campaigns for Oct 10, Nov 11, Dec 12, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, just to name a few.”
“Marketing strategies for sales are largely driven by e-commerce retailers. Creating a ‘new date’ can be a costly affair for a business as financial resources would be allocated to drive interest into the ‘new date’.
Lim said too many campaigns would lead to consumer fatigue.
“This is on top of the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya promotions during the first half of the year.
“Too many crafted or curated sales events will eventually create consumer fatigue and dilute effectiveness as sales period start being taken for granted,” said Lim.
A couple, who decided to hold their wedding banquet on Oct 10, 2020 (10/10/2020) after consulting a fortune teller, said it was a challenge to secure a venue and all other relevant vendors.
“We finally managed to make bookings for everything we needed, but it was not easy.
“From banquet venue to make-up artist and photographer, many were already engaged for other weddings.
“Most of the popular restaurants were already booked by September this year,” said the bride-to-be who only wants to be identified as Leong.
Leong, 30, and her husband-to-be would be sharing wedding anniversaries with her future in-laws.
“My fiance’s parents also got married on Oct 10. So the date is very meaningful to us,” she said.
Many other lovebirds prefer dates such as Feb 2, 2020 and Feb 22, 2020 for their wedding day.
“So far, we already have more than 100 couples who signed up for Feb 2, 2020. Feb 22, 2020 is not far behind,” said Thean Hou Temple marriage registration department officer Chow Soo Sin.
“We believe there will also be a lot of enquiries for ‘twin digit dates’ such as May 5, June 6, July 7 and so on. Malaysians like dates that are easy to remember.
“If it falls on a weekend, there will be even be a higher demand,” she said.
At present, Thean Hou Temple only takes reservations up to March next year.
A man, who wants to be known only as Farris, 30, planned to propose on one of the “catchy” dates next year, if he saves up in time.
“I don’t want to get into trouble for not remembering or celebrating special occasions.
“So I will definitely pick a date that is easy to remember. That will make me a good husband,” he quipped.
Even British newspaper Daily Mail got into the “numbers game”, quoting astrologer Carolyne Faulkner as saying that 20/2/2020 (Feb 20) would be a great date to marry next year.
And what about retailers or businessmen?
The jury is still out on whether they have any favourite dates next year.
Malaysia Retail Chain Association president Datuk Seri Garry Chua said retailers would most likely still focus on festive seasons.
“Our focus will always be on the festive seasons. That is usually when people would shop the most.
“We do not have information for next year yet but it may be a good idea for retail stores to run events or promotions on dates with catchy numerical patterns,” he said.
An officer involved in planning and strategies for marketing campaigns, who only wants to be identified as Lim, 34, said: “I don’t think we will see new ‘twin digit date’ sales period. E-commerce retailers are already saturating the calendar with campaigns for Oct 10, Nov 11, Dec 12, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, just to name a few.”
“Marketing strategies for sales are largely driven by e-commerce retailers. Creating a ‘new date’ can be a costly affair for a business as financial resources would be allocated to drive interest into the ‘new date’.
Lim said too many campaigns would lead to consumer fatigue.
“This is on top of the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya promotions during the first half of the year.
“Too many crafted or curated sales events will eventually create consumer fatigue and dilute effectiveness as sales period start being taken for granted,” said Lim.
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