North Wales shoppers will able to snap up Christmas discounts from retailers in the Colwyn area thanks to a new loyalty card aimed at boosting trade.
AM Darren Millar launches the new BID loyalty card with Details shop in Rhos on Sea. Pictured: AM Darren Millar makes a purchase with the loyalty card supported by Detials Proprietors Tracey Poller and Kathryn Robinson and Anna Openshaw from BID
The scheme is being organised by Colwyn BID, the not-for-profit social enterprise run by the local business communities, to help bring more shoppers into the area.
The first Colwyn BID Loyalty Cards will be handed out at Colwyn Bay’s Festive Lights switch on, which is hosted by BID and the Town Council, on December 1, and which features a snow globe and land train. They will also be handed out at Rhos-on-Sea Christmas Fayre on December 2, which has been organised by Rhos on Sea Traders Association and local town councillors.
Shoppers can also snap up the cards at Santa’s Grottos that are being funded by BID and run by Colwyn Bay company HTC. Santa and his elves will be at Little Lily & Co in Rhos-on-Sea on December 2, as part of the Christmas Fayre, and then again on December 16. In addition on December 9 Santa will be at 22 Station Road, Colwyn Bay. The gifts will feature products from Be My Bear in Mochdre.
The loyalty cards will then available at businesses who have joined the scheme in the town plus Colwyn Bay, Old Colwyn and Mochdre, with discounts continuing into 2018.
Shoppers will able to take advantage of a wide range of offers at stores, cafés, restaurants and bars, in addition to other local service providers such as hairdressers and printers. Each trader will have specially-tailored incentives, from money off products through to buy one, get one free – shoppers simply have to present their Colwyn BID Loyalty Card.
The discounts available will also be listed on BID’s website, and in the directory of those businesses taking part.
The scheme has already won the backing of Clwyd West AM Darren Millar, when he met retailers Tracey Poller and Kathryn Robinson, who run soft furnishing and giftware shop Details in Rhos on Sea.
Mr Millar said: “I am delighted with this loyalty card scheme, it is a great initiative that will add significantly to the trade in local shops. I want to encourage as many people as possible to shop locally to help boost our local community
“The team at Colwyn BID are doing a tremendous job, it’s really great to see them working together with the local business community on initiatives that are coming from the traders themselves.
“The fact that we have Colwyn BID means that businesses’ ideas can be implemented, to help transform our local economy.”
BID project manager Anna Openshaw consulted widely with the businesses across the four towns to devise a loyalty card that will be easy for both traders and shoppers to use.
She said: “We listened to our members, who wanted to reward shoppers for supporting them, in a very flexible way. Quite simply, the more that people shop locally, the more they will save. It will be available in builders merchants and furniture stores through to hairdressers and cafes, so it will have something for everybody.
“People don’t have to live in the Colwyn area to get their hands on a loyalty card and save money – we want to encourage people from outside the area to shop here and support our local businesses. They may live nearby, or work here, or simply travel through the area regularly.
“We have a wide range of independent traders in the Colwyn area and we want to support them to ensure that they continue to flourish.”
Among the traders taking part in the scheme are Tracey Poller and Kathryn Robinson, who run soft furnishing and giftware shop Details in Rhos on Sea.
Kathryn said: “It’s important that the scheme is easy to use, for both traders and shoppers alike. Shoppers simply have to show their card to take advantage of that day’s special offer. And it’s the same card across a wide range of businesses, so they aren’t carrying around lots of different cards.
“It’s important to celebrate the four individual towns that make up the Bay of Colwyn. We are lucky to live and work in this unique area, made up of mostly independent businesses. I hope that the scheme will remind people that their needs can be found right on their doorstep – they don’t need to travel further afield.
“If there is a place to shop local the Bay of Colwyn certainly has it all.”
For more details on the Colwyn BID Loyalty Cards and to see what offers are available from businesses in the area, visit www.colwynbid.co.uk
