Spending power! Ballymena's Card surpasses £250,000 in sales

BALLYMENA is celebrating a huge milestone as the town’s local gift card surpasses a quarter of a million pounds in sales in just over two and a half years.

Since its launch in November 2022, The Ballymena Gift Card has quickly become a favourite with shoppers, businesses and organisations. As the card can be spent with a variety of local businesses in Ballymena, it offers the recipient unbeatable local choice while keeping money locked into the town.

Sales of the Ballymena Gift Card are strong for 2025, with gift card sales already 35% ahead of the same period last year.

Shoppers can pick up their Ballymena Gift Card at the kiosks in Fairhill Shopping Centre and Tower Centre, online with home delivery, or using local Click and Collect. A digital e-card is also available which can be added to digital wallets for tap to pay convenience.

Organisations can order Ballymena Gift Cards for their people in bulk and distribute cards to employees easily. New technology introduced in 2024 allows organisations to send digital Ballymena Gift Cards on their chosen date/time.

Backed by Ballymena Business Improvement District (BID), the Ballymena Gift Card is designed to make shopping local simple. Support was received from the Department for Communities and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to fund the self-service Ballymena Gift Card kiosks in 2022.

Emma McCrea, Ballymena BID Manager, said: “Passing the quarter of a million mark shows just how much people value the Ballymena Gift Card. It is a success story for our town, locking in money that might otherwise have been spent elsewhere and directly supporting our business community. It is fantastic to see how people use their card from nights out to beauty treatments, new tyres to fashion, jewellery and more. And when people redeem their card, they often spend more than its value which means the true impact for Ballymena’s economy exceeds £250,000.

“We are grateful to the many organisations who choose the card for corporate gifting, and the Fairhill Shopping Centre and Tower Centre for their continued support in being local sales points. One of the real strengths of the scheme is that independents and nationals have come together to accept the gift card, giving huge choice for shoppers while keeping money local.”

Roy Smith, Outdoor Adventure and Chair of Ballymena BID, said: “This milestone shows the strength of Ballymena as a shopping and leisure destination. The gift card is about more than just sales, it is about uniting our businesses and giving people another reason to choose Ballymena. Reaching a quarter of a million in just over two and a half years is proof that local people and organisations believe in our town and want to see it thrive.

“This is just the beginning and we know the Ballymena Gift Card will continue to grow.”

The Ballymena Gift Card is part of the award-winning Town and City Gift Card concept from Miconex, active across the UK and Ireland.

Colin Munro, Managing Director at Miconex, said: “Organisations in particular are increasingly choosing local gift cards, like the Ballymena Gift Card, because the card offers unbeatable local choice for their teams and the chance to actively support the local economy too. Our investment in digital gift card technology not only aligns to key industry trends, with digital gift cards overtaking physical for the first time in 2024, but it is key to our mission of helping organisations to make the move to local so we can help local economies to thrive. We encourage all local organisations to give the card a try.”

For more information visit: www.ballymenagift card.co.uk