Malls in battle to entice shoppers
Free Wi-Fi, live music all part of arsenal
THE battle between East London malls ahead of the festive season is hotting up, with some offering free Wi-Fi to entice shoppers.
Vincent Park marketing manager Mariaan Hartwig said a free Wi-Fi offer was launched yesterday and was part of a campaign themed “Vincent Park, The Hottest Spot This Summer”.
“We are moving with the times and aim to add value to our shopper experience.
“In today’s world, technology is integrated into our daily lives,” Hartwig said. “It’s all about being connected now.”
She said to access the complimentary service, shoppers would have to switch on their Wi-Fi and select “always on”, open their browser and click on “complimentary access” and refresh or type “abc” into their address bar to open the landing page.
It was then a case of following simple instructions to register on or log on using “complimentary access”.
The offer is limited to 30 minutes or 50MB of data – whichever comes first – per day.
Beacon Bay Retail Park will celebrate the start of the festive season with a Late Night Shopping event on November 25 which will see stores remaining open until 8pm.
PR and marketing manager Natelie Kriel said the event would allow customers to take advantage of fantastic store specials, as well as enjoy a variety of entertainment on the evening.
“Our Late Night Shopping annually attracts hundreds of visitors, and Santa’s arrival on a fire truck is certainly the showstopper,” Kriel said.
She said the centre had offered free Wi-Fi to shoppers since last year and had seen more than 800 users connecting each month.
“We know staying connected at this time of the year is very important for many, and we are proud to be able to offer our customers a complimentary 30 minutes or 50MB data per day,” she said.
Mdantsane City Mall centre manager Dean Deary and Hemingways Mall marketing manager Estee Roos said while plans to install free Wi-Fi were under way, there was plenty of entertainment and fun to be had at the malls this festive season.
“Cables are already installed and we plan to have Wi-Fi up and running in the next two weeks,” Deary said.
Other activities at Mdantsane City this festive season include Buffalo City Metro’s annual carnival which will see well-known national artists performing.
Roos said they were planning to offer free Wi-Fi at Hemingways before Christmas and added that entering and exiting the parking areas at Hemingways would be made easier as new equipment was being installed.
“There will be lots of entertaining and fun activities with the Salvation Army Band performing