Night is young for Bengaluru’s shoppers
BENGALURU: How does a night of shopping sound after a long day of work? For many who often complain about the lack of time to shop during the day, night markets are turning out to be go-to shopping destinations. In addition to several stalls with a variety of goods, fun games, food stalls and music mark the nights.
This year, the night market at SteppinOut will focus on menus catering to those following the keto diet as well as vegans. A silent disco and flash sales are also part of the plan. According to Smrithi Menon, partner and CEO, Highstreet66, which is organising SteppinOut Night Market at Jayamahal Palace Hotel on November 9 and Taj WestEnd on December 15, the number of participants has been increasing considerably year after year. “In the upcoming event, we have around 120 shopping stalls and 20 food stalls. Besides the shopping experience, there are games, activities such as candlemaking and pottery workshops, silent disco, where people are given headsets to listen music which is gaining popularity these days, and live shows,” says Menon, adding that the average footfall to the markets – entry for which are price at `199 – is around 6,000 visitors.
Arun Rajagopalan, owner, Django Restaurant in Indiranagar, who will be participating in the night market, points out that such events give platform to brands and pop-up shops, to engage with customers. “The two major markets, SteppinOut and Soul Sante, enable us to understand customers’ current tastes. For example, we could get an insight into preferences like keto diets, weekend and specialised menus. By participating in such night markets we are able to come up with new menus,” he says.
From her experience, Deepthi Adappa, a resident of NGEF Colony, who frequents these markets, feels they are well-thought out. “Right from clothes to home decor, they are all available at reasonable rates. Everything has a personalised touch or an uncommon look and feel to it. With the festive ambience and cooler weather, these night markets are a different kind of experience from the day festivals,” says the dentist.