The second İstanbul Shopping Festival will run from June 9-29 and is predicted to bring in around TL 7 billion. The city is on its way to becoming one of the world’s leading shopping centers.
The shopping festival will offer up to 50 percent off all goods, from clothing to electronics. In addition to discounts, some brands are offering free store credit after customers spend a certain amount of money.
During the festival, shopping malls and smaller stores will host events and extend their opening hours for the 21 days. Streets will be colorfully adorned with festive lighting and decorations. Street parties, galas, surprise events, music activities featuring concerts from renowned musicians, races, fashion shows and special overseas presentations are all scheduled to take place throughout the festival. İstanbul will become a center of attraction for serious shoppers worldwide. The festival includes gifts, promotions and raffles. All this season’s stock will be on sale.
More than 100 modern shopping centers are taking part in the festival, including ones in Taksim, Nişantaşı, Şişli, Bakırköy and Fatih. For visitors who prefer to shop while strolling through the city, the stores of famous shopping streets, such as Bahariye and Bağdat Caddesi, will be filled with heavily discounted goods. Customers will be able to relax at nearby cafes and restaurants before heading out for more shopping. Last year the festival attracted approximately 5 million visitors and this year organizers expect millions more.
The festival kicks off with a large parade on İstiklal Caddesi in Taksim beginning on Saturday, June 9, from 1-2 p.m. and continuing later on Bağdat Caddesi from 5-7 p.m. The Kent Orchestra, Tiny People and Zalinde will perform, along with clowns, jugglers, stilt walkers and skateboarders.
The festival website, http://www.istshopfest.com/, lists specific retailers and their discounts and gives links for following the daily events and discounts. Shoppers can check in on Foursquare using ISTSHOPFEST, and a free mobile application, ISF mobile, is available for iPhone, iPad and android phones. For foreign visitors, the website also features historical places, museums and a guide for traveling with children.
The festival is a must-visit for savvy bargain hunters and shopaholics alike. Happy shopping!
Nearly half of consumers to be ‘social shoppers’ by 2021 - femalefirst.co.uk
The next generation of ‘social shopper’ is expected to emerge as a force to be reckoned with by 2021 with 41 per cent of the UK’s consumer population expected to be influenced by or using social media to make a purchase, according to new research from Barclays.
Amongst 25 to 34 year olds this figure is much higher with nearly half (45 per cent) of this age group already engaging in s-commerce. By 2021, the figure will have jumped to 73 per cent.
Richard Lowe, Head of Retail & Wholesale at Barclays, said: “Shopping has always been a social activity right back to the days when people bartered rather than paid for goods. It wasn’t until the arrival of e-commerce that the social aspect of shopping was removed.
“For most consumers the social element is fundamental – shopping it is a leisure activity in the British psyche – so being able to reintroduce this aspect into the online purchasing process is a powerful tool for retailers”.
Around 70 per cent of online shoppers are already active users of social platforms but the number of social shoppers is set to grow further as social micro-blogging websites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest increasingly blur the boundaries between retail channels in the same way mobile technology has done.
Where social media is really coming in to its own is as an influencer and multi-channel integrator rather than a direct sales channel. Users are receptive to new ideas, suggestions and recommendations when on social networking sites but are not in an active state of mind to purchase. Translated into revenues, in the next five years influenced sales are expected to more than double from £1.4 billion to £3.3 billion. This contrasts with direct sales which are expected to rise from £210 million to £300 million.
The retailers enjoying the greatest uplift in sales as a result of social media’s increasing influence are fashion, footwear, music, film and grocers.
Richard Lowe continues: “When someone you know and trusts makes a recommendation it’s extremely powerful and we’ve seen that the social shopper isn’t afraid to express online how much they want, love or dislike a product or service.
“This in turn creates a feedback loop on a product or brand. As more people post reviews, more people read them and, in turn, they give their own feedback which is picked up by a new group of consumers. Retailers should be exploring ways to tap into these communities in order to create more personalised shopping experiences”.
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