Spiderman cutouts decorate the ‘Back to School’ section of a popular hypermarket in Doha. PICTURES: Najeer Feroke.
Peter Alagos/Business Reporter
Aside from discounted prices, colourful larger-than-life cutouts of action heroes have added to the appeal of most “back to school” promos found in major malls and hypermarkets around Qatar.
These attractive marketing peripherals usually greet shoppers as they enter the stores – an effective ploy to entice parents and their children to take advantage of the promos as the opening of classes is just around the corner, a female merchandiser told Gulf Times.
Aside from the widely-circulated collection of discounted school supplies and uniforms advertised in newspaper supplements, she added that the marketing materials, whether hung on the ceiling or used as a stand-in poster, provides a festive mood that aims to enhance the shopping experience of customers, particularly children.
Another merchandiser from a leading hypermarket said their weekday sales are quite slow in the mornings but start to pick up starting 6pm. But from Thursday to Saturday, sales for uniforms and school supplies go up as much as 50% to 60% due to the popularity of their back to school offer, he said.
Aside from the school uniforms and shoes, stores have also tagged discounts on kids’ everyday casual wear. A department store staff said the strategy is another effective marketing ploy to entice parents to make side trips to the boys and girls section of the store.
But she said the back to school section is the most popular section of the store these days because of the discounts offered on school bags, lunch boxes, pencil cases, pens and pad paper, as well as school uniforms, pants, skirts, and socks, among many others.
Even in the far-flung or isolated sections of the store, small kiosks decorated with colorful designs of popular cartoon characters offer “school sets.” The package is composed of a trolley, lunch box, lunch bag, school label, flat pencil case, and water bottles.
The “5-in-1,” “6-in1,” or “12-in-1” value pack school sets, according to a staff manning the kiosk, comes in handy if parents or their kids prefer a particular design such as Dora the explorer, Hello Kitty, Cars, Marvel superheroes, The Smurfs, Lulu Caty, and Disney characters, among others.
“It is also good for last minute shopping or if the parent does not have time to go around looking for school supplies since the set includes the necessary things a student needs inside the classroom,” he explained.
Even electronic gadgets like Android tablets have been included in the back to school campaign.
But a sales lady manning a kiosk of a leading Android smartphone and tablet manufacturer said their sales have dipped after the Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr celebrations.
She said while electronic gadgets have been promoted as educational tools, parents would prioritise school uniforms, notebooks, tuition fees, and other school-related expenses before spending money on tablets or smartphones.
According to her, current morning sales for tablets and smartphones would only go as high as six gadgets per day. During the evenings, she is able to sell at least 16 tablets or smartphones.
She added that revenues today were a far cry from what the company traded during the holidays with 14 tablets sold in the morning and 30 to 40 more gadgets in the evening.
After the holiday period, sales pick up during payday at the end of the month, she said. During Eid al-Adha in early October, the merchandiser added that she expects the sales to improve.
Value pack school sets on display.
