Think about any shop near you in Kannur. In Onam time, the shop is full. Banners everywhere. Same for Vishu and Eid. And after the festival? The shop becomes quiet, and the banner goes inside the godown.
I see this a lot, and I feel it is a mistake. Good sale marketing in Kerala should not wait for a festival. Big brands like MyG do it, and small food shops here in Kannur also do it. Let me explain why.
Why everyone waits for festival offers
In Kerala, people already know that offers will come in Onam. So they wait. They keep their money, they keep their plan, and they buy only when the discount board comes.
That means for the other months, your shop is slow. The customers are not gone. They are just waiting for you to give them a reason.
Onam is really big. A GfK case study on MyG says that around 28% of the yearly sales of technical and consumer goods in Kerala happen in the Onam season. So I am not saying festivals are not important. I am saying you should not depend on only one season for the whole year.
A big example: MyG
MyG is a big Kerala brand for mobiles, laptops and home appliances. They are a nice example because they don’t sit quiet after a festival.
In Onam, they run big offers with prizes. Their Onam draws gave scooters and trips to winners. And they don’t stop there. One time, they ran a four-day special sale just after Eid, with cashback and EMI offers. mygkeralakaumudi
So the customer feels “MyG always has some offer.” That feeling brings people to the shop or the website again and again. You can see their offers on myg.in.
MyG also has a very big showroom in Kannur. They say it is the biggest in South India. If you are from Kannur, you can go and see how they put up their offers. myg
A local example from Kannur: Fried Express
You don’t need a big brand to do this. Fried Express in Kannur is a good example. They have 4 outlets, and they give offers often. One of their offers is 3 kids burgers for just ₹119.
Think about it from the customer’s side. For three burgers at that price, a family or a group of friends will think “let’s go to Fried Express” without much thinking. And once they are inside, many people also order fries, drinks or chicken. So the shop gets more people, and a bigger bill.
What I like here is that the offer is simple. No hard rules, no small print. The customer can understand it in 2 seconds.
The lesson is simple: a clear low price, repeated again and again, makes people feel “this place is affordable.” That feeling brings them back.
Make your own sale days
You don’t need a festival to give an offer. You can make your own:
- Half Year Sale: in June or July, when people want to clear old stock and buy something new.
- Year End Sale: in December. Everybody is in a buying mood.
- Monthly Blaster Sale: 2 or 3 days only, every month. People will start remembering the dates.
- Week Express Sale: just one weekend, with a short list of offers.
Now the customer has a reason to come all year, not only in Onam.
FOMO makes people act fast
FOMO means “fear of missing out”. When people see “Only 3 days left” or “Only 20 pieces left”, they don’t think too long. They come and buy.
Some simple ways to use it:
- Always put a last date. A sale without a last date is just a normal price.
- Show how many pieces are left.
- Put a countdown on your website or Instagram story.
- Send a WhatsApp message on the last day, “Today is the last day.”
Customers feel they are saving money
When a brand has sales often, people feel “this brand is affordable”. Even the person who did not buy anything today thinks “this is a good shop, I will come next time.”
They also tell their friends and family. More people in your shop or on your website means more sales. That is the whole game.
One warning: don’t fake the offer
Please don’t increase the price first and then give a “discount”. People in Kerala understand this very fast, and once they lose trust, it is very hard to get it back. Keep the offer real, even if it is small. A small real offer is better than a big fake one.
How to start (simple plan)
- Pick one sale idea from the list above.
- Fix the dates and tell your customers early.
- Promote it on Instagram, WhatsApp and Google Business Profile.
- After the sale, check how many people came and how much you sold.
- If it worked, repeat it every month or every quarter.
Try it for 3 months. You will see the difference.
Need help with your sales marketing?
If you own a shop or a small brand and you want more people to come, I can help you plan the offers and promote them online. I’m Sinan, a digital marketer in Kannur, and I help small businesses in Kerala get more customers.
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