The vouchers issued to support local shops are popular

The Pro-Zug gift card, funded by the Corona Fund, was distributed to the residents of thr City of Zug ten weeks ago. The balance has been positive.

In mid-July, the City of Zug issued a Pro-Zug shopping voucher worth CHF 100 to all city residents. The city had created a Corona Fund of CHF 10 million with the surplus from the 2019 financial statements. Around CHF 3 million went back to the local population and to the Zug tradespeople as an electronic gift card in credit card format. In order for the vouchers to be redeemed in their shop, the shops in the city of Zug had to be members of the Pro Zug association. Johanna Margraf, president of the Pro Zug association, was very pleased with the city's support at the time.

The generous gesture should not only support the retail trade, but also offer a benefit to residents of the City of Zug. In this way, more shopping is carried out in local shops and many smaller shops are supported during the difficult Corona period. Moreover, the generosity of the city would inevitably lead to an increased demand for memberships of Pro Zug. But what is the actual result of the gift cards?

More than a third of the vouchers were used in retail stores and restaurants.

"Pro Zug has registered more than 120 stores as new members, and gift cards are now welcome in more than 220 stores," says Margraf. Ten weeks after the distribution of the cards, more than a third have already been used in retail and restaurant businesses. "At the moment, I can’t say which sectors are being favoured," says Margraf. She is very pleased with the great result, and believes it will be even bigger by the end of the year, thanks to the Christmas business.

Not everyone in businesses and restaurants has benefitted equally, but the action has received a very positive echo. "Consumer behaviour varies widely. In some cases, the card balance is spent in several small instalments, and sometimes also used as a part of a larger purchase," says Margraf. Pro Zug will advertise the gift cards again on the Sunday-opening days on December 13 and 20 and during the general Christmas business.

"It would be great if customers reloaded their cards"
The response from stores in Zug is also consistently very positive. "People appreciate this gesture from the city. We also immediately used the voucher at a small retailer," says Fönsi Dubach from Käse Dubach cheese shop in the Neustadt passage. The Hotz Rust bakery also shopped diligently with the Pro-Zug gift card. "Of course, it would be great if customers would reload their cards, or buy them for other people as an idea for a Christmas present," says Andrea Hotz.

Both the Optik at the Fischmärt, the Wunderbox gift and souvenir shop in the old town, together with the Prisca Waller women's fashion store on the Kirchenstrasse, the Scherbengraben homeware shop on the Grabenstrasse or Fischbis Textildruck and Stick in the Herti Centre, and many other Zug shops are enjoying more new customers because of the gift vouchers, with which customers treated themselves to something. Some are convinced that many consumers would not have bought anything there without the gift card. Thorsten Schneider, owner of the Optik on the Fischmärt, says:

"It is to be hoped that the people of Zug have noticed how many beautiful shops there are in the city."