Scarborough gift card goes digital

This Christmas is the perfect time to support the high street and shop local with the popular Scarborough Gift Card, and it is now available digitally.

With over 100 different businesses signed up, from food and drink to leisure experiences, the digital gift card will make it even easier for you to shop local and provides the perfect gift for loved ones this Christmas.

Following the successful launch in November 2020, the scheme has seen over £61,581 worth of gift cards sold, providing a major boost to local shops. But the team behind it have even higher goals.

Now you will be able to not only buy your gift card online, but you will be able to send it digitally, straight to your loved ones. Making this the perfect easy gift, for those people you never know what to buy for. It will also allow purchases to come from outside of the Yorkshire Coast, boosting the sales even further.

Taking the technology to the next level, this gift card will even be able to be stored in your phone’s virtual ‘wallet’, meaning with just a double click you can purchase everything you need. Not only is this a move forward for technology, but also a huge environmental step from the group who are keen to cut down on the use of plastic.

It is being spearheaded by town-centre retailers and supported by the Town Scarborough and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Town Centre Team, Yorkshire Coast BID, York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub, Scarborough Borough Council and the Brunswick Centre.

The hope is that these additions will continue to encourage people to shop locally and help put money back into the Scarborough community, driving more sales into local shops and continuing to aid the high-streets recovery post-pandemic.

Kerry Carruthers, chief executive for Yorkshire Coast BID said: “The gift card has already had great success supporting local businesses, but also locking valuable funds into Scarborough. It’s great that we are able to take the next step to make this even more accessible, and cut down on any environmental impact, all in time for Christmas as well!"

Janet Deacon, head of tourism and culture for Scarborough Borough Council said: “It is fantastic news that the gift card can now be purchased as a digital card for purchasers to use in the 100 businesses that are currently participating with the scheme. The whole ethos of reacts is to ensure that money is retained in the local economy to support jobs, and this will certainly make it easier for purchasers to buy and spend locally”.

Stephen Marriott, centre manager at the Brunswick, commented: “High streets and shopping centres are under increasing pressure from online retailers so to be able to offer consumers greater choice over how they spend their hard-earned money while simultaneously supporting the local economy is something to be applauded.”

The whole ethos of reacts is to ensure that money is retained in the local economy to support jobs and this will certainly make it easier for purchasers to buy and spend locally.

Gift cards can be purchased from the Brunswick Centre or online at: http://townandcitygiftcards.com/product/scarborough-gift-card/