New County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card will help keep businesses open in digital age

The new County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card is a single gift card for the four districts of Co Wexford – Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross, and Wexford town.

"Our mission at the Chamber is promoting local businesses, encouraging and supporting all sectors, so we can drive footfall and spend," said Paula Roche, CEO at County Wexford Chamber. "The gift card takes the shop local sentiment we've built with the paper vouchers to the next level and will be particularly useful for staff rewards and incentives.

"There is a real sense of community in Co Wexford and a friendly vibe that draws people here to enjoy our amazing tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and shops. The County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card encapsulates the whole county in a single gift card, so now not only can we keep spend in Wexford, but we can also bring even more people to Wexford to experience all we have to offer."

Over 150 businesses in Co Wexford accept the new gift card, including retail, hospitality, leisure, health and beauty, and services. Both physical and digital e-card versions are available. Retail businesses accepting the card include boutiques, galleries, butchers, pharmacies, garden centres and department stores.

Betty Kavanagh is co-founder of family-owned Smyth's Homevalue in Enniscorthy and she says the new gift card offers ease and choice for recipients.

"The new County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card will bring huge benefits for businesses, consumers and organisations alike. As a local business, we depend on local trade and the gift card will keep money in the county. The technology aspect of the new gift card is important because as a county, we have to move with the times. The ease of the gift card and the range of businesses it can be spent with makes the card ideal for all kinds of occasions and uses. The vouchers were bulky, but you can easily keep the gift card in your wallet – physical or digital."

Sasha Roche Kelly, owner of Linnoco Lingerie in Wexford town, says the gift card will be useful for employee rewards.

"We used to gift the paper vouchers to our staff but I was conscious to buy low denominations so they wouldn't lose out on change. The new gift card is ideal because employees can spend as they choose with a variety of local businesses, and the balance on the card gets instantly updated. As an employer, you want your team to have value for money and a reward that's easy to use."

A range of hospitality businesses also accept the new gift card, including multi award-winning restaurant The Kitchen in Gorey.

"Online shopping is the norm for many now, especially the younger generation, and I hope the ease of the new gift card and the fact there is a digital version will encourage everyone to support local more," said Aine Gaynor restaurant manager at The Kitchen. "Support for local has such a huge impact on the whole community because it keeps business doors open, helps them to keep on employing local people and makes our communities vibrant places to live and work.

"It is so hard to know what to buy someone as a gift but the choice on offer with the County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card means there is something for everyone, you can buy clothes, get your hair done, go for a meal or anything else you fancy."

The County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card is part of the multi-award-winning Town & City Gift Card concept active across Ireland in Ballinrobe, Carndonagh, Drogheda, Letterkenny, Sligo and Waterford. Over €7m Town & City Gift Cards were sold in Ireland in 2023, with around 80 per cent of sales to organisations for staff rewards and incentives.

Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said, "The County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card is a way for organisations to take an active role in the success of their community by giving a gift card that has to be spent locally, giving tangible support to local businesses. The card is also eligible to be used with the Irish Revenue's Small Benefit Exemption Scheme which allows organisations to gift employees up to two small non-cash benefits each year up to a value of €1,000, increasing to €1,500 in January 2025.

"Newly launched technology also allows organisations to easily distribute digital County Wexford Shop Local Gift Cards to multiple recipients at once, making support for local simple."