AMESBURY — With a growing mix of boutiques, restaurants and salons around town, the Chamber of Commerce is launching a program it hopes shoppers can use as a tool to help explore those businesses.
The newly redesigned Amesbury gift card will be available shortly after Memorial Day, executive director Stefanie McGowan said yesterday.
The gift card program was first started in 2004 by the-then Alliance for Amesbury. With a new president and a new executive director coming on board recently, the organization took another look at the program in order to update and expand on it.
Currently, the gift card only comes in one amount — $25 — and merchants can only redeem it by bringing it to the chamber office after a purchase is made with it. The new card will operate like a credit card — with one easy swipe, McGowan said, something that will appeal to shopkeepers.
The new gift card can be programmed with any amount up to $1,000, McGowan said.
She expects the new card will be more efficient and will help bring more customers into Amesbury shops, McGowan said.
"It's kind of a universal gift," McGowan said, adding that she expects sales will be popular during the holiday season as people look for a gift that won't limit the user to only one shop or restaurant.
Chamber President Matt Sherrill said yesterday the program is a new way for residents to discover their own hometown and discover stores or restaurants they never realized Amesbury had — either in downtown or on Route 110.
"With gas prices the way they are, it's a great opportunity for people to come downtown and see what's here, rather than driving 20 miles to the malls," he said.
Under the new design, the program is more consumer-friendly, Sherrill said.
"We had lost control of it to a certain degree," he said.
The old format had flaws, he said.
The chamber envisions that the card will even be used by companies, such as Realtors looking for a welcome gift to new homeowners, McGowan said.
An Amesbury gift card can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce office. McGowan said she is finalizing a list this week of which members of the Chamber of Commerce will enroll.
Only businesses that are Chamber of Commerce members can participate in the gift card program. For more information, call 978-388-3178.
