Irish towns and cities from across the country are investing in local gift cards to boost shopping districts with €10.5 million in cards purchased in 2024, up from €7 million in 2023. Local gift card sales in Ireland are expected to exceed €15 million in 2025.
County Wexford, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Cavan and Donegal Town all introduced their own local gift card alongside Miconex in the latter part of 2024, joining Letterkenny, Sligo, Carndonagh, Drogheda, Waterford and Ballinrobe, taking the total number of Town & City Gift Card programmes in the country to 12.
Delivered by fintech Miconex, the Town & City Gift Card initiative is a local alternative to national gift cards, delivered alongside Irish Chambers of Commerce and local authorities for the benefit of their business communities. The local gift cards can be spent with a variety of local businesses including national and independent shops, restaurants and hotels, locking spend into Irish towns and cities.
With over 75,000 local gift cards sold in 2024, Miconex estimates that around 150,000 specific trips will be made into Irish towns and cities as a result of the 2024 gift card sales. The firm is attributing the rise in sales to an increase in ‘shop local’ sentiment, with greater numbers of organisations and consumers opting for local gift cards that support their local area and give recipients enhanced choice.
New digital gifting technology for organisations introduced by Miconex in 2024 allows organisations to send digital e-cards versions of Town & City Gift Cards online to multiple recipients at once. January 2025 increases in the Irish Revenue’s Small Benefit Exemption Scheme means organisations can now gift payrolled employees and directors up to five small non-cash benefits each year up to a value of €1,500.
In Ireland, the top-selling local gift card was the ShopLK Gift Card, delivered by Letterkenny Chamber, reflecting the 20th successive year of growth for the programme.
Toni Forrester, CEO at Letterkenny Chamber, said: “2024 has been an incredibly successful year for the ShopLK Gift Card, surpassing even our own expectations for growth. Our partnership with Miconex has allowed us to introduce a raft of technological advancements for our card, including the digital ShopLK Gift Card, and Load This Card, enhancing accessibility and convenience of the card for a range of customers. We appreciate our customers who have bought cards in their thousands and the many businesses who use ShopLK as their preferred employee reward.”
The Irish places which introduced new local gift cards in 2024 are ambitious for 2025 growth, including in Tipperary, Kilkenny, Wexford and Donegal Town.
Donegal Town Business Focus Group switched from paper Shop Local Vouchers to a digital and physical gift card with Miconex in November 2024.
Raymond Rooney from the Donegal Town Business Focus Group said: “The Donegal Town Gift Card has been a resounding success. To achieve sales of €350,785 within a two month period far exceeded our expectations. The transition from a paper based vouchers system to that of a digital card has greatly reduced our operational tasks and will ensure our scheme is in the best position to grow further in 2025. As an added bonus, redemption rates are already excellent meaning money has been spent and will circulate around our community.”
County Wexford Chamber also made the move from their paper based programme, launching the County Wexford Gift Card for the four districts of County Wexford – Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross, and Wexford Town – as part of the Town & City Gift Card concept in November 2024.
Paula Roche, CEO – County Wexford Chamber, said: “The transition from paper vouchers to the County Wexford Shop Local Gift Card has been an undeniable success. This Mastercard backed scheme has not only made spending more convenient but has also provided a well needed boost to the local economy by encouraging spending within the county. Since its launch in November, the initiative has sold €588,000 worth of gift cards, with €255,000 already spent across more than 3,000 transactions – directly benefiting local businesses, preserving jobs, and enriching community life. It’s truly inspiring to see the businesses and people of County Wexford embracing this initiative, ensuring every euro stays within the county.”
Also launching pre-Christmas 2024 as an upgrade to their paper Kilkenny Gift Vouchers was the Kilkenny Gift Card.
John Hurley, chief executive at Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce, said: “Kilkenny Chamber was delighted to announce the launch of the new Kilkenny Gift Card in November just in time for Christmas! The response from everyone has been extremely positive. The fantastic choice of over 120 outlets accepting the card made it the ideal gift and employers used the initiative to avail of the generous tax treatment under the Small Benefit Exemption. Sales have already matched those of the previous paper based vouchers scheme and the indications are that strong growth will be achieved in 2025.”
In Tipperary, County Tipperary Chamber and Tipperary County Council collaborated on their county-wide Tipperary Gift Card, which also launched in November 2024.
Michelle Aylward, CEO, County Tipperary Chamber, said: “The Love Tipperary Gift Card initiative, launched on November 28th, 2024, has already made an incredible impact in just over a month, generating over €100,000 in local spending during the busy Christmas season. This success highlights the strong community support for local businesses and the effectiveness of initiatives that keep money within Tipperary.
“Supported by Tipperary County Council, the programme has quickly become a game-changer for our local economy. In 2025, we are focused on expanding participation, increasing consumer engagement, and driving even greater benefits for businesses across the county. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a transformative movement for Tipperary.”
Limerick City and County Council, in partnership with Limerick Chamber, launched the Limerick Gift Card in November 2024 with over €118,000 in sales in the first month of the programme.
Michelle Gallagher, CEO of Limerick Chamber said: “As we begin the new year, we are really encouraged to see the growth of the Limerick Gift Card programme, which has already seen over 500 cards sold and a total value of €118,000 purchased. Its success to date has been a testimony to the people of Limerick who have embraced this programme and supported it, and this initiative has proven to be an invaluable asset for our local economy, directly supporting Limerick’s businesses and community. We are grateful to Limerick City and County Council for being the key backer of this programme, to the employers in the region who supported the Limerick Gift Card by purchasing it for their employers. And to those who purchased the Limerick gift cards for their friends, family and loved ones.
“Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to build on this momentum and continue to drive even greater success for our city and county towns, ensuring that every gift card purchased has a lasting impact on our local economy. It’s easy to purchase online and never been easier to spend, with over 170 local businesses signed up to accept the gift card and growing. Now is a great time to back your local businesses.”
Existing Town & City Gift Card programmes in Ireland also enjoyed strong sales for 2024 with increases in the Small Benefit Exemption expected to drive additional sales from organisations in 2025. Drogheda BID introduced the Love Drogheda Gift Card alongside Miconex in November 2020.
Trevor Connolly, chief executive officer at Drogheda BID, said: “Love Drogheda BID have been delighted to see the growth of our local gift card in 2024. We have had tremendous feedback from our local audience who are eager to support Drogheda based businesses and when we note that the businesses pay zero commission it encourages further support. Looking forward to 2025 we will continue to encourage greater uptake of the Love Drogheda Gift Card via the Small Benefit exemption scheme which increased to €1,500 tax free for employees in January 2025.”
The Love Sligo Gift Card reached a milestone of €1 million in sales in one year, with around 70% of sales to organisations.
Gail McGibbon, CEO at Sligo BID, said: “Sligo Business Improvement District is delighted at the fantastic local response to the Love Sligo Gift Card since its launch in October 2023 and experienced continuing growth both from consumer and corporate purchase of the gift card across the Christmas shopping period.
“Having established a track record of gift card sales every month during 2024, Sligo BID intends to expand promotional and marketing activity around key events in 2025 such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Halloween. Sligo BID conducted a number of business and consumer surveys around key festivals and events in 2024 with a Love Sligo Gift Card reward for participating and this not only raised the profile of the Love Sligo Gift Card but substantially increased the survey responses.”
Alongside the Irish market, Miconex operates its local gift card programmes in the UK, Canada and the US. Over 25,000 local businesses accepted a Miconex local gift card in 2024 – branded as Town & City Gift Cards in Ireland and the UK, and Downtown Gift Cards in Canada and the USA. 18 new towns, cities and districts launched their own local gift card alongside Miconex in 2024.
Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said: “It has been fantastic to work alongside Irish Chambers of Commerce, business associations and local authorities in 2024 to provide tangible support for their business communities. Whether upgrading from successful paper programmes, continuing to grow existing Town & City Gift Card programmes or introducing a local gift card from scratch, the results seen in 2024 demonstrate the appetite for ‘shop local’ in Ireland.
“Our cards tend to be spent quickly with 42% spending within 3 months and 33% with 6 months, typically making 2 specific visits into their shopping district to spend. What’s more, 86% will spend more than the Gift Card value on redemption. In the latter part of 2024, we introduced new digital technology which allowed even more organisations to make the move to a local option for rewards and incentives. In 2025, we’ll be continuing to innovate for the benefit of our clients, so we can make ‘shop local’ easy and attractive for consumers and organisations alike.”
Mark Cunningham, business development manager for Miconex Ireland, said: “Coming from a background of a small family business, I know first-hand how vital footfall into a local town is, and the estimated 150,000 visits into Irish towns to result from 2024 Town & City Gift Card sales is just as important as the €10.5 million in sales. Each visit indicates a consumer standing in the bricks and mortar of an Irish business. Town & City Gift Cards are responsible for driving thousands of consumers with increased spending power onto Irish streets and through the doors of local retailers, something I’ve had the privilege of seeing in Sligo. The initiative is a brilliant way to keep Irish towns and cities alive, and businesses thriving.”
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