It’s time of year: Shoppers shopping during year-end sale at a mall in Kuala Lumpur. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
PETALING JAYA: ‘Tis the season for year-end holiday sales and retailers can hardly contain their excitement.
Malaysia Retailers Association president Datuk Andrew Lim said despite concerns about the rising cost of living, this was a time when people would want to splurge.
“Annual bonuses will come in and there is also a feel-good factor with our political situation now more stable. Plus, the school holidays are around the corner,” he said.
Lim said retailers were ready to dish out discounts and offers, adding that it was also time to clear current stock.
“This is the right time to clear our stock before getting new items, so more discounts are being offered this season,” he said.
He added that retailers were ready to absorb overhead costs.
“They are not passing it down to the bottom line, which are the shoppers,” said Lim, who is the Sogo Group deputy chairman.
Sunway Malls and Theme Parks chief executive officer HC Chan said that its malls were expecting a 12% higher sales turnover compared with the pre-pandemic period.
He said shoppers would enjoy various loyalty programmes and rewards, which included a lucky draw with the grand prize of an Isuzu D-Max.
“For Sunway Malls, there is an umbrella Christmas sales campaign that is being rolled out across our seven malls for the year-end-sales,” he added.
Chan said there had also been an immediate resurgence in business confidence following the conclusion of the 15th General Election which led to a new government.
“(This) is reflected by our currency strengthening and the stock market surge.
“The business sector wants clarity and certainty, which hopefully the new government can provide,” he added.
1Utama shopping centre spokesman Lee Li Lian said the retail sector’s revival had been spurred by improved economic conditions that included the reopening of international borders and easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
“The mood is upbeat as retail sales have steadily climbed. Retailers are optimistic about their sales prospects and have seen sustainable sales throughout 2022,” she said.
In Lee’s view, businesses have been more innovative with their strategies to attract customers who are facing inflation and rising living costs.
“Consumers are looking to maximise their ringgit, so businesses are addressing this challenge by being more innovative with their offerings in terms of both pricing and giving more value to consumers,” she said.
“We had just organised a three-day Black Friday Sale from Nov 25 to 27 where many of our tenants extended their opening hours till 11pm to cater to late night shoppers,” she added.
Lee said apart from mall-wide discounts, they also gave away gifts for shoppers to redeem.
“Currently, our Christmas celebration is going on as well; it started on Nov 23 and will run until Dec 26,” she said, adding that the momentum will be maintained until Chinese New Year next January.
