Easter in Cypress

After a slow Christmas trading period, the Mall of Cyprus is planning special activations for the Easter trading period. We got the details from Marketing Manager George Pissis

Tell us about Easter in Cyprus – what level of religious holidays are in place and how does it generally impact on trade?

Easter tends to not be as exciting as Christmas from a holiday point of view. In addition, the duration of the holiday is much shorter, with most people only getting a couple of days off before and after Easter Sunday. For these reasons, Easter is generally not as important for trade as Christmas, even though a peak in sales is in fact observed after the traditionally weaker months of February and March. Furthermore, since there is mass every night before Easter Sunday, and many people also follow the pre-Easter fasting tradition, food and entertainment sales are lower than normal in the days preceding Easter.

Last year Covid-19 all but cancelled Easter globally… are you still feeling the effects of that on trade?

The government suspended the operation of shopping malls on 16 March 2020. A general lockdown followed that lasted through Easter into the beginning of summer – we were only allowed to reopen on 8 June 2020. Unfortunately, due to the second wave of the pandemic, we were also closed through the Christmas 2020 period, which is normally the most important period of the year for fashion retailers for example, where the last two months of the year account for more than 20% of annual sales. The second suspension of operations lasted from 11 December 2020 to 7 February 2021, significantly impacting our tenants. The upcoming Easter period will therefore be very important to them.

How will Mall of Cyprus make the most of this peak trading time this year? Take us through what the marketing teams are planning?

We took into account several factors before planning our Easter campaign for this year. A definitive one was the uncertainty resulting from the pandemic-related restrictions imposed on trade and people in general. This meant that we would need activations that can be switched on and off quickly, or activations that can be re-utilised at a later stage or next year. The activations would also need to avoid direct interaction with visitors or leading to congregation of crowds.

The second factor taken into account is the need to create a positive and happy atmosphere in the mall, in order to lighten the mood and offer a pleasant experience to our visitors, who have spent a year with restrictions, loss and negative news. Last but not least, our activations will focus on driving traffic and sales, in order to support our tenants that have had it rough over the last year.

Our first activation for 2021 is the Easter and Spring Decoration, which aims to enrich the shopper experience by creating a festive atmosphere at the Mall of Cyprus. The theme of the decoration is the ladybug, framed with Easter eggs, flower baskets and other floral arrangements in vibrant and playful colours and combinations. The decoration will have ground and suspended elements. We will additionally create areas for photo opportunities, to encourage visitors to take pictures and share them on social media, creating virality. The decorations will be placed in mid-April and removed towards the end of May.

Our second activation for 2021 is an Easter competition that rewards visitors. The competition will run between 12 April and 9 May, and visitors will get one participation point for every 30 euros they spend anywhere at the Mall of Cyprus during this period. At the end of the competition, we will give away by random draw various devices, such as TVs, laptops, tablets and phones, of a total value of 5 000 Euros. We believe that these prizes will be very appealing, as due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, there is a need for new and upgraded devices at most households, to carry out the various novel activities that we have started to do from home.