Page 1836 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 June 2021
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than 50 vouchers; a further 133 businesses redeemed over 100 vouchers; 19 local businesses redeemed over 500 ChooseCBR vouchers from customers. This is a very good spread. I know there is a great deal of interest from the community regarding which businesses redeemed the most vouchers. We are getting further advice on what can be released, noting the commercial nature of a business. While I am not in a position to comment specifically on individual businesses, I can reveal that the business which redeemed the most vouchers was in Gungahlin. It redeemed 3.3 per cent of all vouchers.
There was plenty of commentary in the media and, in turn, social media about particular businesses and one which received more coverage than any other, including as recently as today, appearing to get more than its fair share. The reporting was unfortunate in giving that impression―in that that attempted to delegitimise these businesses’ reasons for participating in the scheme and it took attention away from the hundreds of businesses participating in the scheme. It also undermines that fact that franchisees are small businesses; owned by locals who employ locals.
Importantly, the data shows that no one business was dominating the voucher redemptions. The data shows many businesses were busy, many businesses saw an increase in customers and several have reached out to me directly to report what a huge day Friday especially was for them.
Laura MacKinnon is the owner of Crafty Frog, a small business in Kambah which has been running for many years. She reported to me:
We are absolutely delighted to be involved in this scheme and soon realized that take up rate was way bigger than we’d anticipated. The scheme highlighted small businesses like mine and created lots of excitement.
She noted:
We also chatted to our customers and helped those who wanted to sign up but didn’t know. They in turn spent much more. We had a huge turnout—over 110 customers—
on Friday—
which was amazing.
Another business reported to me how customers in store were looking to spend more so they could access a bigger voucher. These are just two examples, but they underline those aims of the scheme—customers exploring more and spending more when they were there.
Two million dollars is a lot, and it did go fast. But once you accept that local businesses embraced ChooseCBR and the scheme encouraged old and new customers alike to increase their spending, it is not a mystery. In addition to the direct injection into the ACT economy of $5.1 million dollars, the scheme has other real benefits for businesses and consumers alike, and these will be felt for some time.
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