An investment in local Gift Cards is set to pay dividends for shopping districts, with an uplift in sales of the cards in 2024.
Fintech Miconex, operator of 200 local Gift Card programs delivered alongside business improvement districts, chambers and local authorities, has announced almost £16 million in local Gift Card sales in 2024, an increase of over £3.5 million on 2023.
The local Gift Cards can be spent with a variety of local businesses including national and independent shops, restaurants and hotels, locking spend into towns and cities.
With over 240,000 local Gift Cards sold in 2024, Miconex estimates that around 480,000 specific trips will be made into shopping districts as a result of the 2024 Gift Card sales.
Miconex is attributing the rise in sales to an increase in ‘shop local’ sentiment, with greater numbers of organisations and consumers opting for local Gift Cards that support their local area and give recipients enhanced choice.
Over 25,000 local businesses accepted a Miconex local Gift Card in 2024 – branded as Town & City Gift Cards in the UK and Ireland, and Downtown Gift Cards in Canada and the USA. 18 new towns, cities and districts launched their own local Gift Card alongside Miconex in 2024.
New digital gifting technology for organisations introduced by Miconex in 2024 for the UK and Irish markets allows organisations to send digital e-cards versions of Town & City Gift Cards online to multiple recipients at once.
The top selling local Gift Card in the UK was the Aberdeen Gift Card. Led by Aberdeen Inspired in the Granite City, Aberdeen Inspired enhanced accessibility of their local Gift Card with a permanent self-service kiosk located within Union Square, where people can purchase physical Aberdeen Gift Cards in person.
Aberdeen Gift Cards can also be purchased at the Bon Accord Centre and Trinity Centre, with around 50% of annual sales delivered through the shopping centres.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “We are delighted the Aberdeen Gift Card has, for the second year running, been named the most successful of its kind in the whole of the UK after bringing in more than £800,000 in sales last year.
“That is a major coup for the Gift Card scheme - which Aberdeen Inspired introduced to the Granite City in 2020 – but more importantly represents a massive boost to more than 300 bricks and mortar businesses signed up for the Aberdeen Gift Card.
“More and more people are clearly turning to the Aberdeen Gift Card as the perfect present for friends and loved ones – and it is increasingly used by major businesses as a special way to reward and retain staff as part of their benefits packages.
“Aberdeen Inspired never takes that success for granted and always looks for ways to drive home the message that it really is the perfect gift for those who receive it, with hundreds of places to choose to spend from shops to restaurants, salons to entertainment venues.
“Part of that constant innovation saw us install a trailblazing self-service kiosk for Aberdeen Gift Card in Union Square – the first of its kind in Scotland – which proved hugely popular in the run-up to Christmas.
“Aberdeen Gift Card is the perfect present of choice, a major lift for bricks and mortar traders, an ideal way to increase footfall in the city centre, and a growing force for the local economy – which means everyone is a winner.”
In Ireland, the top-selling local Gift Card was the ShopLK Gift Card, delivered by Letterkenny Chamber, reflecting the 20th successive year of growth for the program. The Irish Revenue’s Small Benefit Exemption Scheme allows organisations to gift payrolled employees and directors up to five small non-cash benefits each year up to a value of €1,500.
Toni Forrester, CEO at Letterkenny Chamber, said: “2024 has been an incredibly successful year for the ShopLK Gift Card, surpassing even our own expectations for growth. Our partnership with Miconex has allowed us to introduce a raft of technological advancements for our card, including the digital ShopLK Gift Card, and Load This Card, enhancing accessibility and convenience of the card for a range of customers. We appreciate our customers who have bought cards in their thousands and the many businesses who use ShopLK as their preferred employee reward.”
In Canada, the top selling local Gift Card was led by Selkirk and District Chamber of Commerce.
Bianca Lessard from the Chamber said: “This past year has been incredible for the Biz Bucks program, and we could not have achieved this success without the support of our local businesses, volunteers, generous sponsors, and the loyal community members who choose to buy and spend these cards locally. Since 2022, we have been able to keep over one million dollars in our local economy with this Gift Card program.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we hope to expand our reach by making the program available to other districts outside of Selkirk within our Chamber and create even more success!”
In the USA, the top selling local Gift Card was led by Rock Valley Chamber of Commerce in Iowa.
Ashley Feekes, chamber director, said: “It's been amazing to see how this program has boosted local businesses and strengthened our community. We enjoy working with Miconex, whose high-quality customer service has been a key part of our success. We're excited to keep this momentum going and continue offering this valuable program to our members!”
Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said the increase in popularity of local Gift Cards is good news for business communities: “Shop local sentiment continues to build across all audiences, which is testament to the work of business districts, chambers and local authorities to provide tangible support for their business communities by introducing their own local Gift Card, diverting online spend back into their local area, keeping businesses open and town and city centres thriving.
“In our 2024 research, over 98% of respondents said support for local was important to them and 97% would like a Gift Card that can be spent with local businesses. Cards are spent quickly too, with 42% spending within 3 months and 33% with 6 months, typically making 2 specific visits into their shopping district to spend. What’s more, 86% will spend more than the Gift Card value on redemption.
“In the latter part of 2024, we introduced new digital technology which allowed even more organisations to make the move to a local option for rewards and incentives. In 2025, we’ll be continuing to innovate for the benefit of our clients, so we can make ‘shop local’ easy and attractive for consumers and organisations alike.”