Burgess Hill shops welcome loyalty scheme to support independent businesses

The Burgess Hill’s Shop Independent Loyalty Scheme begins on Friday (April 1) and gives shoppers the chance to win a free hamper of goodies every three months.

It aims to showcase the products and services of independent businesses by encouraging customers to collect a loyalty card from participating stores.

A Town Council spokesperson said: “Over the coming weeks we will be supplying participating businesses with the flyers, window poster and most importantly loyalty cards, in readiness for the launch date.

“This scheme will not cost businesses anything, bar a donated small gift per hamper or percentage off a service,” they said.

Alexis Rose Turnbull, assistant director of Mabel’s Emporium, said the initiative should be effective at encouraging people to shop locally again.

“There’s something to win at the end of it,” she said, adding that Mabel’s is considering adding gift vouchers to the hamper or possibly a cake.

“We’ve got two sides of our business – there’s the tea rooms and we also have the retail side so we could do vouchers for either,” she said.

Alexis said she understood why so many people moved to online shopping during the Covid pandemic.

But she said Mabel’s Emporium is invested in the community, hosting raffles, charity events and workshops, and would like people to help keep local businesses afloat.

“Without all the local shops there’s nothing to do in your town,” she said.

Megan King, owner of Scrapless, an eco-friendly, low waste food store in The Martlets Shopping Centre, said the scheme is a good idea.

She hopes people will venture into a variety of independent shops and said her store’s hamper contribution could be either a voucher or a plastic-free ‘starter box’.

Megan said shopping within Burgess Hill would help keep the town alive and hopes that the community will support their local businesses.

Claire Clayton, proprietor of Rosanne Florists in Keymer Parade, said the scheme is ‘certainly worth trying’ and that her shop will contribute ‘something seasonal’ to the hamper, like plants or gifts.

“It’s very hard the way Burgess Hill is at the moment, with the way the shops are, and it’s positive thing to try,” she said.

Carol Pereira, an optical assistant at Early And Edmonds Opticians, said: “I think it’s a really good idea for local businesses to all get to know each other and for people to go in to visit them.”

“The town at the moment is relatively quiet and I think things like this would be really good for all of our businesses.”

Carol said she thinks the business would likely issue a discount voucher for each of draws.

To be in with a chance of winning a hamper, the council said customers need to pick up a loyalty card from shops where they see the poster.

They then need to purchase items on six different occasions from participating shops and get their card stamped or signed each time.

Completed cards can then be returned to the Help Point in Church Walk to give shoppers a chance of winning a hamper every three months.

A Burgess Hill Town Council spokesperson said: “Burgess Hill has a fantastic array of independent shops right on its doorstep, all selling a wonderful and unique variety of goods; alongside many independent florists, restaurants, hairdressers and butchers, to name but a few.”

The scheme has been made possible by the Town Council’s Bridge the Gap initiative to support the high street.

To find out more, or to sign your business up, contact Gemma Wallis on 01444 238225 or email [email protected].

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