RETAILER VIEW DRIVING AWARENESS

“ST PATRICK’S Day is an important seasonal event our shoppers look forward to. We start promoting St Patrick’s Day the third week in February, as people take three weeks to notice it, think about it and buy it. Our local footprint is quite comfortable, so the cost-of-living won’t be an issue. People enjoy it, it’s a fun evening in. We don’t do much around St Patrick’s Day on social media, but we might take a photo of what we’re doing and our offers, and post it on our platforms.”

Retailer View

TO drive sales, Mandeep Singh, of Singh’s Premier in Sheffield, advertises on social media.

“Our St Patrick’s Day sales are £6,000-7,000 on the day itself. The big sellers are Guinness Draught and Original, Jameson’s Irish Whiskey and Proper Twelve Whiskey. We also have big Irish hats, and green and white scarves,” he says.

“Our shoppers typically buy linked lines as well, including snacks, soft drinks, and general alcohol. I display the Guinness in the Beer Cave fridge and we also have a beer bin, with the hats and scarves. We do a hamper giveaway on Facebook, with branded glass merchandise.

“We start our social media push two or three days before, doing a post every day from Tuesday 14 March, and three or four posts on rugby day. We don’t do anything earlier because it dilutes the impact. Be active online, and put yourself out there.”

“ST PATRICK’S Day is very important for us. The costof-living crisis won’t stop Sheffield celebrating. Things are hard, but we’ve had the best Christmas ever. People get into debt over the festive season because of how much they spend, but they don’t want to miss out. Even with what’s happening in the economy, they carry on, and go full pelt.”