The municipality of Poing is introducing a digital voucher for local shopping.
This should be available in time for the start of the Christmas business.
Poing - Tobias Stokloßa from the Poingen administration projected the website “Voucher for Aglasterhausen” onto the screen as a model. The 4800 community in the Neckar-Odenwald district (Baden-Württemberg) has what the 16,700 community of Poing will introduce this year: a shopping voucher for local shops, service providers and restaurants. The start of sales for the digital Poing voucher (similar to an EC card) is planned for Christmas business, announced Mayor Thomas Stark on Tuesday evening at the meeting of the main and finance committee of the municipal council: “The aim is to promote Poing retailers, service providers and restaurateurs in times of steadily growing online competition. ”In addition, Stark continued,The Poing voucher could also mitigate the consequences of the corona measures and support the local retail trade by tying the purchasing power in Poing.
Poing: Start of the Christmas business
To implement this, the community is setting up an association in cooperation with the local trade association and looking for so-called "acceptance partners" who sell the voucher and who can be used for purchases.
They in turn do not have to be members of the association.
Anyone who becomes a partner of the Poing voucher will be presented on their own website; the municipality will be responsible for marketing.
The same applies to the costs for the introduction of the voucher system and for the production of the voucher cards, for which the administration expects a total of around 4500 euros.
The more people participate, the better the whole thing will be.
Poings Mayor Thomas Stark
The running costs are then to be borne by the operator of the voucher system by paying three percent of the turnover.
Tobias Stokloßa mentioned in the committee meeting as an example: If someone purchases a voucher partner for 100 euros, they pay a fee of three euros.
5000 pieces will be produced at the start
The voucher is not planned in paper form, but as a plastic card; 5000 pieces are to be produced at the start.
The digital system consists of individual QR codes, an app and a website for the sales and acceptance points.
The cards can be loaded with freely selectable amounts.
"The more people participate, the better the whole thing will be," said Mayor Thomas Stark. In communities that already have the system (such as Aglasterhausen), the system is a complete success. According to Stark, the Poing voucher is also a good gift idea - not just for Christmas.