Duane Hicks
The “Go Local” program is off to a strong start in 2018, and now is sporting a new Premium Members Club to reward its most active and loyal members.
“The program continues to go like gangbusters,” economic development consultant Tannis Drysdale told council at its regular meeting last Monday.
She added utilization numbers (i.e., how often the card is used by the total card-holders) for “Go Local” members are even greater than national loyalty programs.
“That speaks to the spirit of our community and how much we appreciate our small businesses,” Drysdale remarked.
There is a merchant base of 30 “Go Local” businesses, with more than 4,500 card-holders throughout Rainy River District.
The program has been in place here since the spring of 2013, with the number of points issued to date exceeding three million.
Some 52 percent of “Go Local” members have used their cards in the past three months, and points issued some months have reached new highs.
For example, back in September, a total of 50,028 points were issued–nearly 20,000 more than in September, 2016.
Another point of interest is that there’s many $25 “Go Local” reward cards that members have earned but have not yet spent.
Altogether, these gift cards equal $15,375, which means many households likely have $25 cards they can spend at “Go Local” member businesses in 2018.
As noted, something new for this year is the Premium Members Club.
The idea first was introduced in November as part of a season shopping challenge, where “Go Local” members were urged to use their card a dozen times between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.
If they did so, they were rewarded with a bonus $25 gift card and added to the Premium Members Club.
The promotion was very successful, resulting in a spike of 794 more “Go Local” card transactions compared to the same two months in 2016, noted Drysdale.
Looking ahead, “Go Local” members now can join the Premium Members Club by using their card 40 times or more throughout the calendar year.
Then they’ll be rewarded with a free $25 gift card at the end of the year.
