14 January 2019
Monday
Our team went down to Katong Square on 30th December to do a recce of that area. After staying around the area for awhile, we realised that majority of traffic comprised of families, in particular couples with young children, as well as tourists which is likely due to Holiday Inn's location in the vicinity.
Even though we went to the location at an off-peak timing around 4pm, there was constant traffic around the area which was a great sign. This could be due to its location right next to I12 mall as well as the numerous dining options surrounding the place. Furthermore, the vintage and lifestyle event is a regular one that happens every month, with publicity on Facebook to update regular customers that such an event is going on. We decided to try out this event and cater our products to the type of customers we are expecting
Products
Terrarium
Since this is a lifestyle and vintage market, we decided that terrariums would cater to the 'lifestyle' section. We used different coloured sand and displayed more figurines to attract families with children
Terracotta Pots
These pots, leftover from our previous Christmas event, were put on display at the booth. We transferred the plants in the terracotta pots to separate pots so that tourists will have an option to bring back the pots to their country if they decide that they like the designs. Cleo would be doing painting on the spot once again to draw people in. We decided that the theme of these pots would be Peranakan to suit the history of the area.
Event
Day 1 (12/1/19)
Children seemed to be attracted to our booth because of the figurines that we put out for display and they showed an interest towards the plants in the terrariums. Since we painted on the spot as well, many people stopped to take a look. Terrarium and figurine sales formed the bulk of sales for Day One, with a few purchases for the terracotta pots.
There were a few passerby who gave kind comments that our terracotta pots are well painted. One of them even stopped by to encourage us by telling us that it is nice to see young entrepreneurs as it would be a good experience for us. Despite lower than expected sales, it was extremely heartwarming to receive such comments!
Day 2 (13/1/19)
The crowd for the second day was much heavier. The previous day, the event organizer had told us that many people came to this area for breakfast after Sunday church services and that sales are usually better on the second day. True enough, we managed to sell more terrariums and by evening, we exceeded Day One's sales.
The crowd peaks after dinner hours as passerby take their time to browse through the different booths. Across both days, we noticed that this group of people were the easiest to engage and were more likely to consider our products. Overall, Day Two sales were much better.
Review of Katong Event
1. Publicity and Awareness
In terms of the banners set up to inform the crowd that an event is happening, it is quite similar to that of White Sands. Likewise, the event organizer, The Retro Factory, has also created a Facebook to spread awareness about this event and regularly updates it.
A big difference between the Katong Lifestyle & Vintage Market and White Sands Flea is that the former has already established itself and gathered a loyal customer base. As this is an event that is held monthly, the vendors at the event are mostly regulars and Gary, the man in charge of the event, had told us that these vendors have their own loyal customers who come down specially to support them.
Furthermore, the Katong Lifestyle & Vintage Market has been featured in several sites such as Honeycombers and Her World as must-visit flea events in contrast to the White Sands' event which just started out.
2. Demographic
The Katong Lifestyle & Vintage Market has good traffic and there are always people at any point of the day. This could be due to the several tuition centers located around the area, dining spots as well as I12 located nearby. However, there are many parents tending to their young children and it is difficult to get their attention. Furthermore, we emptied out our terracotta pots and redesigned them to suit the Peranakan themes to cater to tourists, but this strategy failed as our customers were entirely made up of locals. Points that we have taken away from this event are that tourists are unlikely to buy pots as souvenirs and we will have to use a more hands-on approach to cater to children.
Moving Forward
- We have booked an event at SOTA to test out a more youthful population and where there is high traffic.
- We are creating a Carousell account to expand our sales platform. As of now, we are listing our terracotta pots and figurines for sale as these items are not as delicate as our terrariums. While terracotta pots are also fragile, we will be able to bubble wrap it so that it will not be damaged.
While we did not meet our expectations for this event, we have received a lot of positive comments and encouragements. As we undertake one event after another and learn about the plants through experience, we are slowly building up our knowledge on the dos and don'ts when it comes to handling them. Each event contributes to our growth as we constantly review them and find ways to improve our process flow. Although it gets tiring, we will stay motivated and push on!
Till the next post!