A TROON store owner has spoken about how important the implementation of the South Ayrshire Gift Card can be for their business.

The South Ayrshire Gift Card launched in November and can be spent with participating businesses across South Ayrshire, including retail, hospitality, leisure and services, and with both national brands and independent businesses.

The Scottish Government has backed the introduction of the South Ayrshire Gift Card as part of a landmark move to give every region in Scotland the opportunity to introduce its own local gift card, delivered by Scotland’s Town Partnership (STP) and Perth based fintech Miconex.

Jennie Goudie, owner of Cardhu in Troon, said: “Cardhu is a lifestyle store offering gifts, clothing, jewellery and interiors. “Our ethos is that in one store, you can find the perfect gift for any occasion.

“As a business we’ve had such good support from locals.

“People adapted, customers adapted and we adapted as a business and that’s how we’ve prospered.

“We ran Shopify deliveries and carried on with the website whilst we were closed, and in doing so, we maintained our presence. A more recent challenge has been stock availability. Taking on a unit to store a larger amount of stock helped enormously.

“Shopping habits have changed a lot during the pandemic, and it’s not always as simple as people reverting back to how they used to

shop.

“Customers often say that ‘we don’t know what to do any more’.

“We have to show customers that it’s safe to visit shops in person and bring the fun back into shopping.

“With events, building up relationships with customers, and initiatives like the South Ayrshire Gift Card, we can encourage people back to face to face shopping as businesses will always rely on that local support.

“Like many businesses in South Ayrshire, we have a mix of local customers and those from further afield. As a business, it’s important to keep new customers coming through the door, and being a part of the South Ayrshire Gift Card will help.

“It’s vital for organisations to support South Ayrshire with their staff rewards and incentives. Local businesses offer a bespoke, personalised service and quality products but more than that, they offer a full experience.

“We have so much to offer here in South Ayrshire and we need to showcase that.”