KINGSTON, Jamaica — The last weekend of November will see the return of the JN Mall Pop-up Shopping Experience, a three-day shopping event hosted by The Jamaica National Group, which is set to feature more than 50 vendors offering a wide range of products.

Set for the ‘Black Friday’ weekend-November 29 to December 2 in the parking lot of the JN Bank Chief Office in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, shoppers will be able to explore and choose from a variety of items including food, clothing and apparel, jewellery, art and craft, skincare products, home décor, children’s educational books and toys, among other great items.

Saniah Spencer, marketing executive at JN Group says, similar to last year, the three-day event aims to bring Jamaicans out for a diverse retail experience, while highlighting and giving a temporary, physical storefronts to small and micro local businesses and artisans who solicit largely online.

Vanessa Gilchrist and Saniah Spencer, marketing executive at JN Group. (Photo contributed)

“Last year’s event was a success and one of our primary goals was to help position small businesses so that they could take advantage of the improved economic conditions, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she explained. “It’s going to be an event for the entire family to come and enjoy good food, shop for Christmas gifts and be entertained.”

She outlined that in addition to artisans showcasing their goods the mall space will have live entertainment, and JN representatives on the ground to assist persons sign-up for JN Group products and services.

“We even had a marriage proposal last year and that was quite a happy and entertaining moment,” she said.

Additionally, she said that vendors will benefit from a creative workshop leading up to the event, where they will gain from sessions about business strategy, business and finance, content strategy and editing content and will be provided with JN Pay point-of-sale machines.

“Beyond giving the businessowners a physical platform on the day to increase brand awareness, we also want to empower them with information and skills to maximise their operations after the event is over. We want them to make excellent sales, but we also want to provide them with the tools and resources to grow their businesses.”

She added: “JN has been in the business of empowering small enterprises from the early 2000s when we pioneered the concept of microfinance at a time when lending institutions believed it was too risky to lend to small and micro businesses,” she pointed out. “We have proven that it has been a worthwhile risk, and we have been able to create and sustain more than 200,000 jobs since then, as a result of our commitment.”

Spencer said that the event promises to be exciting and fulfilling; and she is looking forward to welcoming the business owners and the patrons.