In Search Of The X'Mas Spirit

It’s that time of the year to be merry and spread joy and cheer all round. Retail is usually the quickest to join the festival bandwagon and whip up the season’s sentiments for obvious reasons . So did the merry Christmas spirit get reflected in stores this year? Not as much as one would have expected, as observed by VM&RD . But malls seem to have gone all out in raising the festive quotient. Here’s a roundup.

With all that talk of perceived economic slowdown and dampened sentiments, retailers and brands have pinned their hopes on the holiday season sale by offering steep discounts, and in the process wiping away year-end inventory and targeting new customers. As per a McKinsey 2019 Holiday Season Shopping report, the holiday season is responsible for as much as 30% of retailer’s sales for the year and that’s likely to go up. Holiday season also means special VM installations. And when it comes to Christmas, brands leave no stone unturned in capturing the spirit of the season and displaying it, hoping to whip up the spending and celebratory mood. This year though, the Christmas wow factor in brick and mortar stores seemed to be a tad diminished. Beyond the usual season’s greetings stickers, mock Christmas trees and gift boxes piling up in the windows, nothing much really caught attention. Only a handful of brands like Max, Canali, Lifestyle, Villeroy & Boch have managed to capture the Christmas spirit. However, one could see the Christmas gaiety in full swing at many malls across the country. Malls like Phoenix Marketcity, Select CITYWALK, Viviana Mall and Oberoi Mall have gone all out to take the Christmas fervor to a whole new level with striking installations and innovative Christmas trees. Let’s take a quick look at a few Christmas VMs and mall installations which caught our attention.

Phoenix Marketcity wishes with a mega Christmas tree