Ramsgate High Street
I saw a little snippet of a report on the BBC morning news today about a town in Shropshire that has implemented a loyalty card scheme in order to increase footfall and keep people shopping local and I wondered to myself if something like that would work for our local towns?
I?ve just googled and found this article from the Shopshire Star which outlines the scheme. The cards cost £2.50 each and with this you get special discounts are the stores that are registered in the scheme.
Visit the shoplocalns.com site to read more about the scheme (warning: layout is crazy in Firefox), and looking at the offers available there are a variety ranging from straight off discounts of 5% off everything through to offers on certain items.
Loyalty cards can work, just look at Tesco, but without the support of local businesses, local council, and the local public they can fail miserably too. It?s worth noting that the scheme was funded by a £5,000 grant from North Shropshire District Council, and this kind of input from Thanet District Council would show that they have commitment to the local towns and not just the developments at Westwood.
Student Republic, a Canterbury based company has had massive success with their SR-Card, formerly known as the Cant Pass, and a look at the website will give you more info. The card is aimed squarely at students and that is reflected by the offers available which are normally with nightclubs, trendy clothing shops, hairdressers, etc, but it shows that something like this can succeed.
Primarily a loyalty card would need funding, but if it is organised and run well that I believe it could be a success offering the public value in harder times, but also helping local businesses by promoting them and directing traffic their way. That focuses mainly on individuals but it would also help the town centres as a whole too.
What do you think?
A similar thing has happened in Lewes where they issue notes http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/Bank-backs-Lewes-pound.4416097.jp
Essentially this is a form of protectionism so if every town starts to adopt these types of schemes then you end up with less trade between towns and the market shrinks
I wouldn?t really agree with the term ?protectionism?. I would see this as a way of encouraging trade in the local towns of Thanet, and taking away trade from out of town stores. The truth of the matter is that the majority of money spent in local shops stays local (profits, rent, etc) where as money spent in supermarkets and stores will only trickle through to the local economy through the wages of staff with rent, profits, etc going to shareholders, management staff, and national corporations.
It?s good to hear both sides of the argument though so thanks for commenting Paul.
I?m not entirely sure but I remember that something like this was tried back in the 90?s at least in Ramsgate. I could be remembering incorrectly but the person to ask would be Michael Child.
Ah I didn?t get the local town aspect of that and you?re right money spent in the chains will be less likely to be spent locally
Broadstairs Chamber of Commerce are currently looking into Such a scheme of a card or discount vouchers.
I?ve just heard of another loyalty card scheme in Kent ? guess it?s starting in the Folkestone area to begin with. Here?s the link: http://www.melocard.com ? it doesn?t launch until July.
This scheme has been tried in thanet, but the local business people dont understand the benifits and are too lazy to promote the scheme coz they wont get off their fat arses to embrace something unless its money for nothing. The fat cats have taken over westwood cross etc, and now its just a matter of time before Margate , Broadstairs, and Ramsgate town centres become ghost towns ? i can see the tumbleweed rolling now in clifftonville.