Brighouse businesses race to sign up to ‘easy’ gift card initiative

The Brighouse Gift Card will launch in November as part of efforts to sustain loyalty for the town and lock in spend locally – BID businesses can accept the card free of charge

Over 40 businesses in Brighouse have already signed up to a new gift card initiative for the town. The Brighouse Gift Card is open to all BID levy payers, and is free for businesses to accept.

Working like a Mastercard, businesses in Brighouse need no additional equipment to accept the gift card as payment.

All types of business are eligible to be a venue where the card can be spent, including retail, hospitality, leisure, accommodation and services, and both independent operators and national brands.

Brighouse’s new gift card will be available to buy online as either a digital or a physical gift card. Once launched, the card will also be available to buy in person from the BID office.

Helen Holdsworth (pictured), project manager at Brighouse BID said the gift card will provide support for a range of sectors:

“It’s great to see so many businesses signing up to accept the Brighouse Gift Card. We’ve undertaken various initiatives to encourage local shopping in the past, but a recent survey showed that 80% of our businesses wanted a gift card for our town, and it’s something that customers want too.

“Brighouse has a high proportion of independent businesses and shoppers who are very loyal to the town. The gift card is a way for us to sustain that loyalty and will be a positive force for our town, benefiting many different sectors.

“The Brighouse Gift Card will be so easy for our businesses. They don’t need any additional equipment. They don’t need to allocate a resource to manage the gift card. They simply register to accept the card, and it’s just an easy way for shoppers to spend with them.

“All of the places where you can spend a Brighouse Gift Card will feature on the gift card website, which is the first place people look when they receive a card. Being a part of the gift card is a route to new customers, and more money in the till.

“There will be a big marketing push behind the launch of the Brighouse Gift Card but we’ll also use the gift card in various seasonal campaigns. It’s a no-brainer for businesses to be involved because they’ll benefit from this extra exposure.”

Helen believes that the ability for consumers to purchase either a digital or physical gift card once the programme launches will address the various needs of the different age groups:

“This is a next generation gift card that will bring benefits to our town for many years to come. I urge all BID businesses to sign up to accept the card as payment, particularly as we approach the key Christmas trading period.”

Brighouse’s new gift card is part of the award winning Town & City Gift Card initiative from fintech Miconex, with similar schemes running in Yorkshire places including Halifax, Ilkley, Bradford, Barnsley, Harrogate, Scarborough, Sheffield and York.

Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said: “All businesses can benefit from additional revenue and new customers, and that’s what the Brighouse Gift Card will offer. 50% of gift cards are used with businesses that are new to the customer, and 50% of those people will go on to become regular customers. Around 89% of those who receive a Brighouse Gift Card will make a specific visit into the town to spend it, benefiting many additional sectors, and driving footfall to Brighouse.”