£145 million will pour into the high streets in September – thanks to the High Street Scheme designed by the Department for the Economy – Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK to bring forth the vibrant scheme which means that everyone – over the age of 18 – who registers will received a pre-paid £100 card to spend in retail and hospitality – as long as it’s in the high street and not on-line.

On 29^th July, Gordon Lyons – still fresh to his post as Economy Minister – announced that the tender to administer the scheme was awarded to Pre-Paid Financial Services (PFS), and he also revealed the new Shop Local logo.

NR asked the Minister about taking up this challenging role.
“It’s an exciting time – after a year and a half of restrictions and bad news. As a constituency representative for the past six or seven years I was dealing with local businesses on a daily basis and provided support when needed. What local businesses need now is stability and certainty.”

“This scheme is a key element of my Department’s Economic Recovery Action Plan and will give a very welcome boost to our high streets which were hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This uplift is what our local businesses need and deserve.

“It will mean up to 1.4 million people will have an extra £100 each to spend on our high streets rather than online. This will help bring many more customers back through the doors of local retail, hospitality and other sectors.

“I look forward to seeing the benefits this scheme will bring to the wide range of businesses situated in the heart of towns, villages and cities across Northern Ireland.

“It will be beneficial for all. It’s the smaller independent shops that have been hit hardest and who haven’t had the deep pockets to fall back on.”

Incentives

“People can spend their £100 wherever they like on the high street – it’s up to the retailers to incentivise their customers. We would encourage retailers to think of creative ways to encourage people to spend with them. Our research has actually shown that people will spend more – so this adds an advantage.

“Across the whole of Northern Ireland, we would encourage retailers to use all the tools at their disposal to generate custom and trade – to get people in to town centres and change some of the patterns of the pandemic.

High Street Task Force

“The scheme is intended to build confidence and to get the buzz back in to the high street.

“The High Street Task Force is being led by the Executive Office – but they have taken on board the advice from the Department of the Economy. That’s one of the key areas where my department can provide advice.”

Vaccines

NR asked the Minister for his views on the High Street Voucher scheme being restricted to those who are fully vaccinated – to protect others and encourage people that it’s safe to go out shopping again?

“It would be inappropriate to tie vaccines to the High Street Scheme. I would encourage everyone to get their vaccines – but to link this to the scheme would add another level of bureaucracy, and would require additional staff for verification.

Simple process

“We wanted to make it a simple process. It’s not fair on the retailers to put more bureaucracy on to them either. It would also potentially throw up a raft of legal issues – which could potentially scupper the scheme” said Mr Lyons.

NR asked the Minister to outline plans for the High Street Voucher scheme – how will it operate, what will it look like, when will it launch, is there a time limit to use the vouchers etc?

“There will be a time limit – what we want and need is a quick injection now. Pre-Paid Financial Services will administer the scheme and our research has shown that in September there is a lull for retailers between the summer and the end of the year – so it’s the most effective time.”

Outcomes

What outcomes would you want to see from the scheme?

“Long term, we want to build up confidence and return balance to the high street – we want this to be a trend and not just for one month.”

Small independent retailers may become an endangered species – NR asked the Minister, what can we do to protect the economic lifeblood of local communities – their neighbourhood stores that provide employment, services, and that often act as social adhesives in small local and rural communities?

“That’s why we have this scheme – to protect retailers. It’s about long term sustainability and rebuilding confidence. Our research has shown that confidence is vital.”

Priorities

What are your priorities as Economy Minister?

“Recovery – not only to where we were pre-Covid. Tourism had reached a high point – we can get that back again and more. Northern Ireland really does have a bright future – we need people to spend money in local shops and businesses, to take advantage of the scheme and really kickstart the economy.

“Broadly speaking, our new 10X Vision is about looking to the future, being innovative, attracting investment, and investing in people and skills to make the most of the place we live in.

Opportunities

“There are many challenges – but we also have bright opportunities.”

How can we save our high streets? (Post-pandemic – city centres and town centres have lost trade due to people working from home, not socialising, shopping online etc)

“The High Street Task Force and our High Street Scheme will build confidence. The guidance is to continue to work from home – and we are probably looking at new forms of hybrid working – but I would advise people to start coming back to the high street, let’s see some return to normality.

“We are also looking at how things will change on the high street – how it operates, we will just need to adjust.

“Jersey and Malta are two other jurisdictions that have a similar high street scheme – but in the UK, Northern Ireland is leading the way.”

The post High Street Scheme Northern Ireland trailblazing the high street revival first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has announced the contract for the delivery of the High Street Scheme (HSS) has been awarded to Prepaid Financial Services (PFS).

The £145million scheme will give everyone aged 18 and over in Northern Ireland a pre-paid card worth £100 to spend on their local high street. It is planned that the registration process will open to the public in September.

Minister Lyons also today revealed the ‘Spend Local’ logo which will feature on each of the cards.

On the cards

Speaking during a visit to businesses in Carrickfergus, the Minister said: “After a robust procurement process, I am pleased to announce that the contract for the High Street Scheme has been awarded to PFS.

“This scheme is a key element of my Department’s Economic Recovery Action Plan and will give a very welcome boost to our high streets which were hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This uplift is what our local businesses need and deserve.

“It will mean up to 1.4 million people will have an extra £100 each to spend on our high streets rather than online. This will help bring many more customers back through the doors of local retail, hospitality and other sectors.

Benefits

“I look forward to seeing the benefits this scheme will bring to the wide range of businesses situated in the heart of towns, villages and cities across Northern Ireland.”

PFS is a payments technology company which helps governments worldwide get money quickly into the hands of people who need it the most. Most recently, citizens in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Italy and Finland have been assisted with innovative payment solutions across 562 separate initiatives.

Lee Britton, CEO Europe at PFS, said: ”We are delighted to have been awarded this contract. Our award-winning economic stimulus product trusted by governments worldwide will help to give a huge financial boost to the Northern Ireland economy.”

Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster, said: “Hospitality businesses are an integral part of our city, town and village high streets and have suffered considerably due to the impact of Covid. The High Street Scheme is a really welcome and important way we can all support our struggling high street businesses.

“Supporting the high street not only helps the businesses, it also supports the jobs of our friends and family who work in our hospitality industry.”

Difficult year

Aodhán Connolly, Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said: “The past year has been one of the hardest on record for our retail industry and our high streets because of the pandemic. This scheme will give a welcome boost to high street retailers and other consumer-facing sectors in towns and cities in Northern Ireland. It will create a virtuous circle of spending that supports our economy, boosts local commerce and gives our shoppers some retail and hospitality therapy. We would encourage everyone who is eligible to register for the scheme and make every penny count.”

Win-win

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “This scheme is a win-win for our members and our high streets. It will be a significant spending boost for struggling independent retailers as we progress the long road toward recovery.

“70p in every pound spent with an independent retailer is recycled around the economy, supporting local producers, farmers and manufacturers. So it is vital that consumers make a special effort to spend this pre-paid card with local traders to ensure the widest possible boost to our economy.”

Roger Pollen, Head of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) NI, said: “This scheme is a key element in reinvigorating our retail and hospitality sectors after more than a year of crippling restrictions and downturn. What is particularly important is the simplicity of its operation and the widespread distribution.

“By empowering every adult consumer in Northern Ireland, the value of the spend will reach every community and sector. We would urge users of the scheme to consider those businesses that have been most impacted by the pandemic and use their pre-paid card where it can spread most benefit.”

September

Minister Lyons added: “My Department is planning for the scheme to go live in September and I want to ensure everyone who is eligible can receive their pre-paid card as soon as possible after registration. As a first step in that process I would urge members of the public to sign up for the electoral register if they have not already done so as we plan to use the register to check registrations for the High Street Scheme.”

The Minister also today published research carried out by Retail Economics to inform the roll-out of the High Street Scheme.

Retail Economics carried out research on how, when and where the HSS scheme could impact on consumer spending. The researchers made use of outturn data from a similar scheme which operated in Jersey and information from the Office for National Statistics. A consumer panel survey was also conducted, reflecting a nationally representative sample of 1,000 households in Northern Ireland.

Roll-out

Minister Lyons said: “Currently, we intend to roll out the High Street Scheme in the autumn. This aligns well to Retail Economics’ recommendations on optimal timing.

“The results of the consumer panel show that there is evidence that the scheme will encourage shoppers back on the high street, to support local independent businesses and to spend their card in those sectors that have faced difficulties trading in the past year. Many respondents considered that it would encourage them to visit physical locations.

“The Covid health restrictions will need to be monitored closely and taken into account as we move forward.”

@Economy_NI

The post ‘Spend Local’ – Details of High Street Scheme announced by Economy Minister first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.