Fintech Miconex has announced a new partnership with prize platform DAYMADE tapping into the desire from younger consumers to support businesses through local gift cards and prioritise experiences following the latest lockdown.
The partnership sees gift cards from selected Town and City Gift Card programmes available as prizes for winners through DAYMADE, a lottery for the younger generation which is drawn live on Instagram on a Friday at 5pm.
The amount of numbers matched determines the prize category, with two main numbers equalling a £5 win and matching three main numbers for a £25 win.
Consumers using DAYMADE are typically in the 35 and under category and are drawn to the experiential says Lisa Nederveen from DAYMADE:
“A March 2021 survey with DAYMADE users found that 18% had purchased more gift cards over the past 12 months with 30% only buying gift cards from local businesses. Our customers are craving experiences that allow them to discover the world, spend time with friends and support local businesses at the same time.
“55% of our users chose going out for dinner/afternoon tea or brunch as the experience they are most looking forward to as businesses reopen and 40% have missed travel. Town and City Gift Cards are the key to a town or city, and can be used for dinner out, drinks at the pub, a movie with friends, and a shopping afternoon, all of those experiences our customers have been looking forward to.”
The DAYMADE statistics echo the GCVA’s 2021 State of the Nation report which found that Generation Z shoppers are particularly keen on experience gift cards, with 30.1% buying this type of gift card in January 2021, reflecting the desire to get out and live.
They found that 82.6% of Generation Z shoppers (16-24) have purchased a gift card over the past three years vs. 67.6% of Baby Boomers (55 plus). Buying gift cards for self-use was also a key theme, with 42.2% of Millennials (25-34) buying gift cards for themselves, significantly higher than Baby Boomers at 25.4%
Younger consumers were also found to have a stronger social conscience when it comes to supporting local, with 25.5% of 25-44 year olds viewing gift cards as a mutually beneficial means of funding local establishments.
Jamie Sparks, 26, Sidmouth near Exeter won a £25 prize in a DAYMADE draw, selecting an Exeter Gift Card, and is looking forward to using the card now that non-essential businesses have reopened in England:
“I think it’s a really good prize as it covers not just shopping but eating out too. And I think it helps the smaller chains and the independent shops that are local, helping reduce footprint. I discovered new, smaller, independent shops when looking through where I could use the gift card. I’m looking forward to using the card, it’s like a bonus and will make the next trip into the city more of a treat.”
Over 60 Town and City Gift Card programmes are operating in the UK and Ireland in 2021, and are available to buy from £5-£500. Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex, said the partnership will help bring Town and City Gift Cards to new audiences:
“Our sales data from Christmas 2020 showed that Boomers and Generation X shoppers spend most when buying our local gift cards, but that there is universal appeal across the generations.
“What we can see from the DAYMADE and GCVA data is that younger consumers really understand that necessity to support local businesses, even more so that their older counterparts, they want to get out and enjoy where they live and Town and City Gift Cards are an easy way to make that happen.”
Miconex was founded in 2010 and works with towns and cities across the UK, helping to support successful local economies. Miconex developed the UK’s first city-wide gift card programme in Perth through its Town and City Gift Cards initiative in 2015. In 2021, over 60 cities/towns across the 4 countries of the UK are part of the Miconex Town and City Gift Card programme. This programme is designed to lock in money locally for participating businesses, drive footfall and stimulate economic activity, in effect creating a local currency through the Mastercard network. In 2018, Miconex launched Mi Rewards, a loyalty programme that automatically rewards consumers for spending money at registered businesses in a specific local economy, encouraging consumers to spend more in their town or city. The data and insights provided through Mi Rewards generate data and insights to help towns/cities and participating businesses to better understand customers, customer behaviour and to drive loyalty.
