FIVE Scottish places are leading the way in a new Christmas quiz designed to support local gift card programmes around the UK, and encourage local shopping this Christmas. Over 70 towns and cities around the UK have taken part but Scotland is, so far, taking the lead.
Scottish fintech Miconex launched its Great Town and City Christmas Quiz on the 20th November. The quiz invites people to compete for their town or city for the chance of it being crowned the smartest place in Britain. Currently Scottish town Elgin is first place on the leaderboard with over 2000 points, Edinburgh and Perth are 3rd and 5th place, and Falkirk and Kirkcaldy are in 9th and 10th.
Almost 5000 entries have been received in the prize draw, which offers the chance to win a £1500 Town and City Gift Card gift card. New programmes launched in Aberdeen, Falkirk district, Kirkcaldy and rural Scotland in the latter part of 2020, taking the total number of programmes in Scotland to 17 and the total in the UK to 56.
Research from Visa and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has shown that shoppers can double the amount of money that stays in their local economy by consciously choosing to shop local, also suggesting that 81% of people are supporting local businesses more this year.
Town and City Gift Cards are multi-venue gift cards that can be spent across a wide variety of shops, restaurants, leisure and services in a particular town or city. Data from the Gift Card Voucher Association suggests that the popularity of multi venue gift cards is rising, to 37.7% of all gift cards purchased in October, from 36.9%. The data also revealed that 62.7% of people worry about buying single brand gift cards.
Colin Munro, managing director for Miconex said: “The Great Town and City Quiz was born of a need to support our places and also show how important local shopping is. The retail landscape has changed considerably in 2020, but so too has consumer behaviour. People want to support their local merchants because they realise the threat these businesses are under.
“Gift cards are always a popular Christmas gift because of the choice it offers the recipient but with high profile brands like Debenhams going into administration, it’s understandable that people worry about buying single retailer gift cards. Town and City Gift Cards are prepaid Mastercards that can be spent with a vast array of merchants in a particular town or city. What we’re offering this year, is a secure way to give the gift of choice, whilst supporting your local area.
“It’s fantastic to see Scotland so well represented in the Great Town and City Quiz, particularly our places with active programmes which shows that the shop local message is being heard loud and clear. But we’re also happy to see other places that don’t have a programme getting involved, like Inverness and Livingston. It’s too early to say who will take the crown for the smartest place in Britain, anything could happen in the next two weeks.”
The Great Town and City Christmas Quiz tests knowledge of popular culture with questions themed around Christmas and famous gifts, such as the gift Ebenezer Scrooge gave to the Cratchit family and the $1.1 million gift given by Richard Taylor to Elizabeth Taylor in 1969.
People can visit https://townandcitygiftcards.com/christmasquiz/ and select where they live to complete for their town or city and also enter the draw to win a £1500 gift card. The closing date for the competition is 18th December 2020.
Source: Miconex
