A new gift card program has been launched by the Grande Prairie Downtown Association. For more than 20 years there has been a paper system in place, but anyone who used those paper gift cards could only shop at one store, and the amounts could not be split.
The new system can be used like a debit card and can be used at participating retail, services, or hospitality businesses in the City Centre. Executive Director of the Grande Prairie Downtown Association Wendy Bosch says it was time to make this move.
“With the modernization, revitalization of our City Centre, we needed to catch up and modernize as well through this program,” Bosch says.
Making the move to the magnetic strip gift card opened opportunities that were not available before with the paper system, according to Bosch. An example of this is having gift cards available for purchase online.
Bosch says that once a card is purchased it will be mailed to the person who makes the purchase, however, they will still be available for purchase in person at the Downtown Association office.
Bosch says that when someone purchases a gift card they are helping support local businesses and giving those businesses the ability to go up against the Amazons of the world.
“You can use the gift card throughout, and show these local businesses this currency that gives back to them and they give back to their community.”
Bosch explains that the new system will also help give a better understanding of the trends of shopping in the city and give economic value to these shopping trends. She adds that it will also help understand if different campaigns are working or not, and allow for the opportunity to make changes to these campaigns if needed.