Every Household in Borough Could Get £20 Shopping Voucher
Independent local businesses urged to sign up for ShopLocal scheme
Aim of scheme is to get local high streets busy again
Hounslow Council is planning to issue a £20 shopping voucher to every household in the borough as part of a scheme to support the borough’s high streets and encourage residents to shop locally.
The voucher will be launched if enough businesses agree to sign up to make it viable and, if this happens, a launch is planned in August.
Using a dedicated free app to scan the voucher, the £20 will become available to spend on products or services before 7 December.
Funded by the Government’s Covid-19 Additional Restrictions Grant, the ShopLocal voucher will also be an opportunity for businesses to raise their profile with residents and encourage them to spend more money locally in the future.
The scheme, part of the Council’s wider ShopLocal campaign, could also provide an opportunity for independent businesses to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business by offering an incentivised or exclusive deal when the voucher is redeemed.
There will be a dedicated website with a map and listing of participating businesses, and the Council will run an awareness campaign featuring many of the local businesses. The Council will also offer training and support.
Cllr Steve Curran, Leader of Hounslow Council, said, “We have a fantastic variety of shops throughout the borough, and the last 15 months have been extremely difficult for them and their staff.
“By shopping locally we can all do our bit to help Hounslow recover from the pandemic and foster a longer-term culture of supporting our high streets.
“This ambitious initiative is designed to give a much-needed boost to the shops and businesses on Hounslow’s streets.
“It is free for businesses to take part and I’d encourage them to get involved in this opportunity to increase sales and build repeat business with local shoppers.”
Businesses wanting to participate in the ShopLocal voucher scheme, or find out more information, should register by clicking this link.
The voucher scheme is being delivered in partnership with Evouchers, a company which runs programmes for the public sector.
Businesses will be automatically reimbursed by the Council for the value of the customers spend, up to a maximum of £20, within seven working days.
Every business will be featured on an interactive map available through the app.
If you have any questions about how the scheme would operate email: support@evouchers.com
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June 29, 2021