Shoppers can now purchase gift cards that are redeemable at more than 200 participating stores in Centretown as part of the Downtown Bank Street BIA's plan to rebrand its shopping district.
Customers can order cards ranging in denominations from $5 to $500 through the BIA office on Gloucester Street.
BIA executive director Christine Leadman says their goal is to enhance the Bank Street shopping experience.
The gift cards function like preloaded credit cards and are primarily intended to be bought as gifts, says Leadman.
She says the money goes to whichever store the card is used at, meaning that businesses directly benefit from their use.
“We don’t want to limit them. This way, it gives people the freedom to choose a business that appeals to them,” she says.
Businesses can decide whether to participate, but they must accept Mastercard in order to do so.
Barry Nabatian, director of the market research division at Shore Tanner & Associates, says the gift card program is an “innovative step” towards Bank Street’s rebranding as a community-engaged shopping destination, particularly because the program shows no bias towards any particular business.
Nabatian says that while Bank Street cannot compete with large shopping malls filled with chain retailers such as the Rideau Centre or South Keys, the gift card program helps promote it as a “smaller version” of those malls.
Nabatian adds that with the many condos planned for the Centretown area, having Bank Street distinguish itself as a close-knit shopping destination will help welcome new residents and increase business.
“The BIA can market Bank Street as a place that has a combination of stores to help new residents feel comfortable and support local businesses,” he says.
BIA board member Derrick Thompson, owner of Thompson Jewellers at the corner of Bank and Gloucester, says there is no negative to the gift card program.
“We’re trying to create ourselves as a brand and give our customers and ourselves a new shopping experience,” he says.
Kaye Wong, manager of the Murale beauty store on the corner of Bank and Laurier, says that while the idea of promoting Bank Street businesses as a single shopping environment sounds promising, she is skeptical that gift card will help create a unified shopping destination.
She says she has not received any information about the program from the BIA.
“I don’t know how much cohesion there would be here on Bank Street,” she says. “We’d need more awareness of a program like this, especially for the customers.”
The gift card program is the latest initiative introduced by the BIA since Leadman took over as executive director.
Leadman says she she is not done for the year, with another promotional idea in the works for December she is keeping under wraps pending approval. In the meantime, she intends to keep promoting the gift cards as an unorthodox service for traditional businesses.
“We’re very excited at the prospect of bringing more people to shop on Bank Street,” she says.