Margaret River ‘locals’ card’ up and running

The Margaret River Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to start a gift card promotion as part of its Local Is More program. Supported by the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, the cards were devised as a way to provide a flexible option to support local businesses while buying cards as gifts. The chamber was seeking interested businesses to sign up for the program via a registration form on its website. Chamber executive officer Annie McFie said the proposal was aimed at keeping gift shopping money within the local economy. “In just one day of taking registrations of interest, we already have more than 30 businesses wanting to be signed up to accept and stock the card,” she said. “We envisage this steadily growing in the lead up to Christmas and we hope to have at least 100 local shops, galleries, services, experiences, signed up to keep our Christmas spend in the local economy.” Chamber president Melissa Rose said the cards would help counter the shift towards online shopping and more national chain stores entering the town. Sign-up was free for chamber members, and by a fee for other operators. To get involved, visit mrcci.com.au/local-is-more.