Local sourcing

COVER STORY: SCOTLAND LOVES LOCAL

Scottish retailers urged to register for nationwide local gift card

LOCAL RETAILERS IN SCOTLAND ARE BEING URGED TO REGISTER FOR SCOTLAND LOVES LOCAL, A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGING SCOTS TO THINK AND CHOOSE LOCAL FIRST

Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) is urging local retailers across the country register for Scotland Loves Local, a national campaign encouraging Scots to think and choose local first, thereby supporting local businesses in communities, town centres and high streets across Scotland to get back on their feet after Covid-19. SGF is backing the campaign and is encouraging retailers to register their business now so that they can start to receive payments through the MasterCard network.

The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is being rolled out across every region of Scotland. It is a localised product unique to each region, aimed at driving footfall to local businesses and keeping spend local for longer. The programme has full operational support and merchant care from the Town & City Gift Card providers Miconex, who will provide all purchase and fulfilment functions.

When the Gift Card is officially launched, all registered businesses will appear in an online directory and customers will be able to spend their Gift Card at any of these businesses. Scotland Loves Local can also provide stores with promotional materials including window stickers and social media content.

Find out more information or contact clientsuccess@ mi-cnx.com if you have any questions.

Growing spend

Miconex says the average purchase price of a gift card is £34.56 but recipients of a gift card see this as ‘free money’ and will spend up to an additional 65%, supporting not only local shops, but cafes, restaurants, leisure and cultural attractions too. They will also be more experimental, trying out new businesses which they may have never used before.

The mechanics of the system guarantee that cards can only be accepted within the region for which they are branded, ensuring it is a true grassroots benefit to the local economy. The Scotland Loves Local Gift Card is a great way to support your local area, from individual family gifts, to corporate reward and incentive schemes which ensure that the spend supports local jobs and communities.

Phil Prentice

CHIEF OFFICER OF SCOTLAND'S TOWNS PARTNERSHIP

“I truly believe that life after lockdown needs to have localism at its heart. We all now appreciate more now the need for a strong, safe, sustainable local life. Growing our economy from its grassroots is in the national interest.

“Please be kind and considerate to those working in your local businesses as you return and do not forget these same firms when shopping online. Research by the team here at STP last year found that more than two-thirds of companies have the capacity to take online orders.

“So many of our local businesses – and the people who work in them – have been there for us in remarkable ways since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. We must continue to be there for them not just now, but forever.”