Surrey gift and lifestyle store La Maison Boutique has credited its local Gift Card program for driving footfall and spend in the months since launching.
Alongside being one of the 40+ businesses which accept the Love Oxted Gift Card, La Maison Boutique is an in-person sales point for the local Gift Card, with over £3000 in Gift Card sales in the shop in November and December.
Funded by Love Oxted as part of their business support activities, the Love Oxted Gift Card is part of the multi-award winning Town & City Gift Card concept which is active across the UK in 90+ UK towns and cities.
Branded to specific UK towns and cities, and operated locally as a way to amplify the local offering and encourage local shopping, there are no additional costs for businesses to be a part of their local Town & City Gift Card.
Backed by global Gift Card specialist, Miconex, over £24m in Town & City Gift Card sales were achieved in 2025, an increase of 60% on 2024, as shoppers make the move to local Gift Cards to show support for local businesses. Miconex has estimated that the £24m will drive 486,000 specific visits to high streets and shopping districts in 2026, based on estimates of 3 trips into town per Gift Card.
Sammy Green from La Maison Boutique said: “When we heard about the idea for the new Love Oxted Gift Card, we were on board with it straight away. It’s a pre-paid Mastercard that can be spent with all participating businesses in Oxted, with no additional costs for us to accept it or be a part of the program. So my view was ‘why wouldn’t I want to accept this card?
“We have our own Gift Card at La Maison Boutique, but being a part of the Love Oxted Gift Card is a collaborative Gift Card for our town. It increases sales and it increases footfall. The feedback we’ve had from customers has been fantastic, they love the ease and the ability to spend right across Oxted on exactly what they want. If people have, say a £30 Love Oxted Gift Card, they’ll often see something, like a handbag for £45 and will put the additional £15 to it. They’re usually using the card to treat themselves.
“Registering to accept the card was really simple. We were given instructions on how to register our in-store payment terminal to accept the Love Oxted Gift Card, which we completed easily, and Sophie from Love Oxted BID came out and tested it was working.
“We have a small team of four here at La Maison Boutique. I showed each team member how to accept the Love Oxted Gift Card, which basically involves swiping the physical card through our card machine, so everyone was aware how to accept it. It’s no different to taking any other card payment. The digital version of the card is added to digital wallets, meaning recipients can just tap their mobile phone to pay.
“The Love Oxted Gift Card is available to buy online but we were asked to be an in-person Sales Point for people to buy the card. And I said ‘absolutely’ because it brings more people into the shop. I think older people in particular enjoyed buying their Love Oxted Gift Card in person as they may not be as comfortable buying online. We have an independent card machine to take the Love Oxted Gift Card payments, so it doesn’t go through our till unless someone is redeeming it. The Love Oxted Gift Card launched in November 2025, and we had over £3000 in sales of the Love Oxted Gift Card in November and December. We were chuffed to bits.
“In the run up to Christmas, we met new people who we’d never met before purely because they’d come into the shop to buy the Love Oxted Gift Card. And they’d stand at the counter and buy the card, and then they’d look around and say they hadn’t been into La Maison Boutique before or that they’d thought we were expensive but by actually visiting the shop they realised we were not expensive, and that we had some nice bits. We picked up add-on sales from people buying the Love Oxted Gift Card in person but then additionally buying bits and pieces while they were in the shop, so it really benefited us. The whole thing has been really positive.
“I would say being a Sales Point increases your footfall, which is essential for any retailer. It brings more people to your shop, which means they tell more people about your shop. It’s really simple to do. Once you’ve set up, you just run with it, and it’s really good. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
Sophie Martin, BID Manager of Love Oxted said: “La Maison Boutique is a much loved local business in Oxted so it was the natural choice to be a sales point for the Love Oxted Gift Card. The response from locals so far has been fantastic, and there are many upcoming occasions for people to give the gift of local choice, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, the end of the school year and more. When you buy a Love Oxted Gift Card, that money is ringfenced into our economy, helping the local businesses we love to stay open and helping our town to thrive.”
Colin Munro, CEO of Miconex, said: “Town & City Gift Cards, like the Love Oxted Gift Card, are the ultimate ‘shop local’ Gift Card, providing customers and employers with an easy way to choose local. It’s fantastic to read about the positive experience of La Maison Boutique as a sales point and participating business for the Love Oxted Gift Card, both in bringing people through the door to buy the card, and to redeem it. Our cards drive traffic and spend to local businesses."