For a long time, Great Singapore Sale was the biggest shopping event in Singapore, pulling in tourists and locals with huge discounts and exciting events on Orchard Road. But things are different now. As of 2024, the Singapore Retailers Association has stepped back from organizing the big GSS campaigns, focusing instead on coordinating.
This means it’s now up to individual brands to rethink what GSS can be—and those who get it right have so much to gain. Here’s why this is your moment:
• Perfect Timing: June and July are ideal because of school holidays, more tourists, and people looking to refresh their wardrobes and homes mid-year. People are ready to spend!
• Tourism Boost: Visitors to Singapore are always looking for great places to eat, shop, and experience local culture. GSS is still on their radar.
• Online Growth: Online shopping in Singapore is booming, expected to hit S$14.2 billion by 2025. This means GSS isn’t just about physical stores anymore; your online presence is key.
The window of opportunity is wide open! Whether you’re running a campaign alone or teaming up with other brands, now is the time to stand out. Simple discounts won’t cut it anymore because promotions happen all year. What you need is a true Great Singapore Sale experience—and we’re here to show you how to create one.
GSS Campaign Ideas to Supercharge Your Sales This Season!
1. Post-Purchase Engagement: Add Excitement with “Spin & Win” or “Mystery Box” Experiences
In line with the GSS spirit of excitement and great deals, consider introducing a post-purchase gamification element such as a “Spin & Win” or “Mystery Box” experience.
Right after completing their purchase, customers can be invited to spin a digital wheel or open a virtual mystery box. This not only enhances the shopping experience but also extends the brand interaction beyond the checkout.
Brands like Swarovski have successfully used such tactics (powered by Vouchermatic), offering post-purchase customers a chance to participate in a “sure-win” game. Prizes can include bonus discounts, free gifts, or exclusive vouchers—transforming a regular transaction into a moment of joy and surprise.
This approach boosts emotional engagement, increases the perceived value of the purchase, and encourages repeat visits during the GSS season.
2. Digital Stamp Cards: Encouraging Repeat Visits During GSS
For F&B and FMCG brands, the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) presents an opportunity to increase footfall and repeat visits through digital stamp card-style campaigns.
The idea is to reward frequency and build customer habit during the campaign period. For example:
“Dine in three times during the GSS month and unlock a free beverage on your next visit.”
Each visit earns a digital stamp, and once the threshold is met, customers automatically receive a reward voucher—redeemable in-store or via your app.
This creates a clear incentive for customers to return, increasing visit frequency and spend per customer.
Benefits for your brand:
• Drives repeat traffic during a competitive period
• Builds brand engagement and habit through gamification
• Offers an automated, trackable loyalty mechanism
• Delivers instant gratification, increasing customer satisfaction.
This simple yet effective mechanic is low-effort for staff to manage and easily promoted across digital menus, social media, and QR codes in-store. It keeps customers returning throughout the GSS month and helps your café stand out with a rewarding, memorable experience.
3. Strategic GSS Partnerships: Expanding Reach Through Smart Voucher Integration
This shopping festival is not only a retail highlight for locals—it also draws a significant number of tourists. This makes it the perfect window to form strategic partnerships with complementary local brands, including cafes, beauty salons, tour operators, and hotels.
Rather than relying on generic cross-promotions, brands can now create GSS-themed bundles and experiences using a gamification and voucher platform. For example:
• “Stay & Save: GSS Voucher Bundle”: Partner with hotels to offer guests a GSS-exclusive co-branded voucher bundle upon check-in. These digital bundles can include offers like 10% off at a partner café, free dessert with any main course, or $15 off selected attractions. Delivered via QR code or SMS, the experience feels curated and valuable—enhancing the tourist’s stay while driving traffic to participating outlets.
For Hotels:
• Enhance the guest experience with exclusive local perks.
• Differentiate their GSS package offerings from competitors.
• Increase guest satisfaction and likelihood of positive reviews
For Partner Brands (e.g., Cafés, Attractions):
• Gain direct access to a steady stream of tourist traffic.
• Drive in-store visits and incremental sales
• Build brand awareness through inclusion in the hotel’s welcome package.
4. Membership Sign-Ups: Unlock Exclusive GSS Rewards and Experiences
The Great Singapore Sale (GSS) presents a prime opportunity to drive membership sign-ups—especially for e-commerce and online brands. By offering exclusive perks such as early access to GSS flash sales and gamified incentives like a “Spin & Win” game upon sign-up, brands can provide immediate value that encourages customers to join.
For online brands, this strategy is particularly powerful as it enables the collection of first-party customer data—critical for personalized marketing and long-term relationship building in today’s privacy-focused environment. Gathering this data during a high-traffic event like GSS allows brands to better understand their customers and tailor future offers effectively.
A practical example is an online fashion retailer that invited new users to register via pop-ups and social media links during GSS. New members received a welcome bundle including instant vouchers and access to exclusive partner offers. Using a voucher and loyalty platform, the retailer automated reward delivery and tracked sign-up sources, enhancing campaign efficiency and customer engagement.
This approach not only boosts membership numbers but also creates positive brand interactions, turning browsers into loyal customers—making it an ideal strategy for both ecommerce and offline brands, with particular advantages for digital-first businesses.
5. Grand Lucky Draw Campaign: Double Chances During GSS
Departmental stores, retail outlets, and FMCG brands can significantly boost customer engagement and sales by launching grand lucky draw campaigns with a special incentive during the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) month.
Customers who participate in the lucky draw during GSS automatically receive double the entries, effectively doubling their chances of winning attractive prizes. This not only drives higher footfall and transaction volumes during the GSS period but also sustains interest and engagement throughout the entire two-month campaign.
Such a campaign encourages customers to prioritize their purchases during GSS to maximize their winning opportunities, while the extended duration keeps your brand top-of-mind beyond the sale period.
6. Hyper-local GSS Offers
Malls have a unique opportunity to create meaningful, real-time engagement using hyper-local offers. Leveraging beacon technology, malls can deliver context-aware promotions that surprise and delight shoppers right where they are.
Positioned strategically—at entrances, atriums, or near your café—these beacons trigger push notifications when customers with your mall or partner app come within range.
Imagine this: a shopper walking near a participating fashion store receives a message:
“Flash Sale: Enjoy $20 off when you spend $100 at Store X—today only! Tap to claim your GSS voucher now.”
Once claimed, the voucher is stored in the customer’s wallet and redeemed instantly in-store—creating an immediate call to action.
This overall helps to
• Increases conversion from walk-by traffic
• Encourages spontaneous purchases during peak shopping periods
• Allows for performance tracking and attribution of in-mall campaigns
7. Engage Shoppers with a GSS-Themed Gamification Experience
Adding an interactive game to your GSS campaign can significantly boost customer engagement and brand recall.
An engaging gamification concept like a “Spot the Local Brands” game can be highly effective. Shoppers are invited to identify familiar Singaporean brands from a grid of mixed logos—a fun and interactive way to connect with customers and celebrate local pride.
Because the game focuses on local pride, it resonates well with Singaporean audiences during GSS and can easily be adapted for other occasions, such as Singapore National Day campaigns—simply by updating a few design elements and logos.
Using gamification in this way
· Encourages repeat visits.
· Increases time spent engaging with your brand.
· Deepens emotional connection.
Plus, integrated with a voucher platform, you can reward players with instant discounts or vouchers, driving conversion directly from the game.
Choosing the Right Platform
Running these exciting campaigns might sound complicated, but with the right platform, it can be seamless. A good platform should be able to:
• Launch branded campaigns like spin wheels, stamp cards, quizzes, mystery boxes, lucky draws and more.
• Create and automatically send out vouchers.
• Track campaign performance in real-time so you can adjust instantly.
• Work across online, offline, or mixed (hybrid) channels.
With the right strategy, tools, and timing, you can turn the Great Singapore Sale into your most powerful campaign window of the year.
Ready to transform your GSS strategy? Connect with us to make these ideas a reality for your brand!
