Tourism-related websites were the most visited during the first week of The Great Cebu Sale (GCS) 2020, Cebu’s first industry-wide virtual sale event.
“The promos offered by our resorts, hotels and F&B establishments are our top deals,” GCS chairperson Camille Aldeguer said in a statement.
“Based on the feedback we’ve received, people are eager to go out and relax. Many have therefore purchased overnight stay promos offered by our resorts and hotels,” she added.
Other websites with high online traffic were electronics, lifestyle, home essentials, and food and beverage (F&B).
Aldeguer said the GCS website at www.thegreatcebusale.com attracted over 3,000 visitors in the first week beginning September 15, 2020.
“We expect this to increase moving forward especially if more people will be aware that some of Cebu’s famous brands are offering great deals and promos this time,” she said.
Most of the site visitors came from the Philippines, followed by the US, Japan, Singapore and Qatar.
Visitors from the Philippines accessed the website from Cebu City, followed by Iloilo City, Davao City, Quezon City and Makati City.
The GCS website promotes the various deals offered by participating merchants and directs visitors to the merchants’ websites.
“The website does not have a payment platform. The fulfillment of the order or purchase lies directly under the responsibility of the participating company,” she said.
Webinars
GCS organizers have also scheduled various webinars throughout the sale period to stimulate public interest, said Raki Urbina, co-chairperson of the GCS.
These webinars help guide businesses, retailers and consumers on the new normal, he said.
A two-part webinar series entitled “Rethinking our Business and Repurposing our Facilities for Survival and Sustenance #Diskarte” has been scheduled for September 28 and 29 (Part 1) and on Oct. 5 and 6 (Part 2).
Another webinar dubbed as “Redefining and Optimizing the Essential Components of Retail in these Most Challenging Times” will be conducted on October 12 and 13.
GCS will also host a webinar on “Leading by Emotional Intelligence with Stressed-out Workforce and Anxious Guests and Customers” on October 19 and 20.
Chester Lim, president of the Philippine Retailers Association in Cebu (PRA-Cebu), said they plan to extend the conduct of webinars through the holiday season.
“Extending the webinar towards the holiday season is a good idea. In fact, the initial plan is to do a monthly sale per industry. We will just probably wait for the outcome of this one before deciding to proceed with the next sale,” Lim said.
If the virtual sale would be extended, there would be a different set of offers and promos for the Christmas season, Lim added.
Raffles
GCS organizers also announced they are raffling off prizes every week to spur participation from the public.
There are three ways to join the raffle, namely, through Facebook, by joining the webinars, and through submission of proof of purchase of at least P1,000 and above from any of the participating merchants between September 15 and October 31, 2020.
Receipts with the complete name, address, mobile number and email of the customer may be sent by messaging to the official FB page of GCS or via email to info@thegreatcebusale.com.
“We will be announcing the weekly winners every Monday starting Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and 12, Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2,” Aldeguer said.
“Our official delivery partners Lalamove will deliver the prizes to the address you officially registered,” she added.
She said a customer may submit multiple transactions per week for greater chances of receiving prizes. More details may be found on the GCS Facebook page.
Participating in the sale are:
Wellness facilities such as Maayo Well Cebu, Prosel Pharma Inc., and UV Care;
Food and beverage merchants such as Cafe Laguna, Dessert Factory, Margets Deli, Nanays Best, The Lemon Co., Fujinoya Café and Bakery, Amarillo, Lighthouse Restaurant, Freshco Cebu Brand Dried Fruits, Uy Masuy Wine Factory, Bubble Tea Station, Casa Verde, Bricklane Doughnuts, Bon Chon, Asian Wave Seafood Corp., Lemon Grass and D+B Wines, Global Pacific, and 10 Dove Street;
Travel and tourism brands such as Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Marco Polo Plaza, Bai Hotel, J Park Island Resort & Waterpark Cebu, Crimson Resort & Spa, Ano World, Seda Hotel, Cebu Grand Hotel, Kasai Village, Mezzo Hotel, Cebu White Sands, Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown, Radisson Blu, Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Citadines, Summit Galleria Cebu, Southwind Travel & Tours, The Henry, Solea Mactan Cebu Resort, Quest Hotel, Destination Specialists Cebu, Cebu Parklane International Hotel, Golden Prince Hotel and Suites, Residencia Isabella, Goldberry Suites and Hotels, San Remigio Beach Club, Tambuli Seaside Resort & Spa, Mystical Rose Flower Farm & Lemon Orchard, The Hotel Elizabeth and Yello Hotel;
Hardware establishments such as Belmont Hardware Depot, Cebu Home and Builders Centre, Living N Style, Worldwide Home Depot and Worldwide Tile Depot;
Lifestyle brands such as ATE by Tatah, Mi Dept. Store, Island Souvenirs, My Jewels, Outlets at Pueblo Verde and Loalde;
Home essentials merchants such as Ayala Centre Cebu, Ayala Central Bloc, SM City Cebu, SM City Consolacion, Belmont One, Gaisano, Gaisano Grand Malls, Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Prince Hypermart, Oakridge Business Park, SM Seaside City and Uratex Foam the Sleep Specialist;
Electronics merchants such as Aerophone, Junrex, NGenius, RC Goldline and Family Appliance;
Automotive companies such as Fast Autoworld Philippines Corporation, Global Star, Hyundai and JMC; and
Services such as DMC Busa Printers, Peel Uniform Printing Services and Architectural Interior Source.
The Great Cebu Sale 2020 is organized in collaboration with the Resort & Restaurant Association of Cebu, Inc., Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Hardware Consolidated, Inc., Cebu Alliance of Tour Operation Specialists, Inc., Cebu Business Club and the Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers.
The sponsors are Anjo World, Island Souvenirs, Ng Khai, Alcordo Advertising, Twin Bee Print Ads, Wee Doo, Lalamove, Angkas, Expree, Mober, Foodpanda, GlobeMyBusiness, RD Pawnshop, Aerophone and Uratex. (Ventures Cebu)
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