Loyalty comes at a lower price (From Bournemouth Echo)

Loyalty comes at a lower price

8:30am Monday 8th March 2010 in

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WHEN the going gets tough, Billy Ocean opined, the tough get going.

And over the past two years, it has often needed the sheer determination of individuals to make a difference.

From small acorns, large credit crunch-busting campaigns can grow and the traders of Ringwood paved the way a year ago with a discount shopping scheme in the town that was to put a smile on their faces.

The effort to revitalise the town’s businesses – driven forward by Jim Stride – started as a germ of a notion that developed into an idea that not only deserves to succeed, but will likely be guaranteed to have an impact.

Now the scheme is starting to spread across the New Forest and as we predicted 12 months ago, it’s going far and wide.

Eighty or so traders signed up to the original scheme. Each offered their own discounts, highlighted on a voucher featured in the Echo and on our website, and all you had to do was present the voucher when you pay for your goods and services and you enjoy the savings shown.

The new scheme will utilise a supermarket-style loyalty card to be used in any number of participating businesses, saving shoppers having a pocketful of different cards.

The idea can provide a shot in the arm to any town and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be helping to roll out the scheme to other towns across our circulation area.