Inverness independent store in 160th year celebrates gift card success

A family owned shoe store in its 160^th year has praised the city’s local Gift Card for its ease of use and ability to drive additional spend, calling the initiative a ‘real benefit and positive for our stores’.

Begg Shoes is in its sixth generation of family ownership, with ten stores mainly in the North of Scotland, including two in Inverness on Union Street and High Street. The independent business is part of the Inverness City Centre Gift Card, with multiple cards redeemed across the Inverness stores in 2025.

Arran McAleer from Begg Shoes said: “The business has really evolved over the past 160 years but we still very much value the in-person store experience, especially at a time when e-commerce is always trying to take a larger slice of the pie. When Inverness BID launched the Inverness City Centre Gift Card, it was an easy ‘yes’ to join the initiative.

“It really surprised me how easy it was to onboard our stores to accept the card. The last thing you want to do as a business is make an already busy team busier still with new processes. Onboarding was as simple as taking a test transaction through our existing terminals. As the Inverness City Centre Gift Card is a prepaid Mastercard, it’s also very easy for our teams to accept.

“If you’re buying for someone and you don’t know what they want, you can buy the Inverness City Centre Gift Card, and they have the choice of the whole of Inverness city centre. The local support message is vital too. As a business, we’re always trying to promote ‘shop local’ because if we don’t support our businesses, we will lose them.

“Our customers are focused on finding shoes that fit well and comfortably, and it’s brilliant that they can spend their Inverness City Centre Gift Card getting exactly what they want and need, all leading to additional sales for our business.”

The Inverness City Centre Gift Card was introduced by Inverness BID in 2022 with over £200,000 of cards sold to date. In 2025, an in-person kiosk dispensing the card was introduced at the Eastgate Centre, enhancing the accessibility of the card.

Margaret Laws from Inverness BID said: “It’s never been easier to shop local. The Inverness City Centre Gift Card is a fantastic way for people to support local businesses while still giving the recipient real choice. It’s also a great option for those who are environmentally conscious, for those tricky-to-buy-for friends or family members, and for people who love Inverness and want to support their local community.

“We’ve also made it even easier to purchase a card with the launch of our new kiosk in the Eastgate Centre. Introduced just before Christmas, it works like a simple dispensing machine, allowing people to quickly and conveniently pick up a Gift Card while they’re in the city centre. It’s located at the Falcon Square entrance, next to Burger King. We and our local businesses are really grateful to all who have supported the scheme and helped the Inverness City Centre Gift Card continue to grow.”

The Inverness City Centre Gift Card is part of the multi award winning Town & City Gift Card concept from fintech Miconex. Begg Shoes also accepts the Moray Gift Card and the Perth City & Towns Gift Card.

Arran adds: “As a heritage retailer, we’ve seen many high street initiatives come and go. A lot of the initiatives I’ve seen can be difficult to grasp, require lots of initial work for the business to take advantage of, and are difficult for the end user.

“With Town & City Gift Cards like the Inverness City Centre Gift Card, it’s simple. People know how Gift Cards work, you’re not having to teach them something new. In terms of yield, you get a lot out for what you put in. The last thing you want to do as a business is invest a lot of time in something with little return. We see the Inverness City Centre Gift Card as a real benefit and a positive for our stores.”

Colin Munro, CEO of Miconex adds: “Town & City Gift Cards, like the Inverness City Centre Gift Card, are designed to be friction-free for businesses. They can be accepted using existing payment terminals with simple setup, and as Begg Shoes have demonstrated, they drive additional footfall and spend, so we can keep our high streets thriving.”