Enniskillen Gift Card sales had surpassed £120k by Christmas

Now in its fourth year, the Enniskillen BID team behind the project were expecting a 10 per cent increase on the previous year’s sales, but by November this initial targets had been surpassed, and was then hitting more than £120,000 in sales by Christmas Eve.

The support from larger businesses who wanted to thank their staff for working during the difficulties of 2020 helped with the huge increase in sales.

Local, larger businesses such as Kerry Foods, Balcas, Western Brand, Ready Egg Products and Encirc increased the card’s corporate sales by 250 per cent.

Bernard McCauley from Kerry Foods, wanted to thank staff for their hard work while ensuring that they supported the card’s ‘shop local’ focus.

Kerry Foods employs more than 300 people who worked throughout 2020 during the various lockdowns.

Noelle McAloon, from Enniskillen BID, was thrilled with the card’s record sales, saying: “We all can see the serious negative effects 2020 has had on local businesses, and I am glad to be able to work on a project that has locked £120,000 into the Enniskillen economy.

“It has been a pleasure to deal with the larger businesses, who were so keen to support local retail and the ‘shop local’ ethos. It is a perfect example of business supporting business in County Fermanagh.”

The Enniskillen Gift Card was the first town gift card to launch in Northern Ireland, in November 2017, and it was named the best-selling such card in the UK over the 2019 Christmas period.

The Enniskillen Gift Card has been supported by local consumers, who enjoy the security and choice that it has to offer.

It can be spent in more than 120 Enniskillen businesses, from hairdressers to pharmacies to jewellers and coffee shops, and everything in between.

The Enniskillen Gift card differs to other store cards, as you have the choice of 120 stores, so if one business unfortunately closes, the consumer can still spend their balance in one of the many other businesses.