Having a whip round for a special occasion – be it a new baby, a wedding, a leaving do, or end-of-term teacher’s thank you – just became easier as Aberdeen Gift Card joins the national group collecting platform GiftRound.
This makes it simple to organise a collection to say “congratulations”, “thanks”, or “well done” by gifting someone the Aberdeen Gift card that can be spent however they want in more than 300 local businesses – from shops to salons, restaurants, and bars to arts venues. Aberdeen Gift Card – introduced by Aberdeen Inspired – is one of the first local gift cards available from the GiftRound store as part of a drive to encourage local shopping.
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The Edinburgh-based online group collecting platform was founded in 2018, and more than 100,000 collections have been created through the GiftRound store, with over £5 million in gift cards/vouchers ordered via the platform.
Craig Forsythe, CEO & founder at GiftRound said: “GiftRound was an idea that I came up with 10 years ago as a solution to the office problem of trying to collect money for a gift. Someone would always put the card in their desk drawer and it would get lost.
“But things really kicked off for GiftRound in the pandemic with the cultural shift towards remote working. With GiftRound, we’re reigniting the joy of gifting, making the process celebratory and helping the recipient to get a nicer gift at the end.”
Aberdeen Gift Card is joining the GiftRound store as part of a wider onboarding of Miconex’s Town & City Gift cards for 34 towns and cities in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Craig said: “Giving recipients access to a range of local businesses, and supporting smaller quality retailers and independent businesses through the Aberdeen Gift Card, is the magic of our collaboration with Miconex and the Town & City Gift Card initiative.
“Most people want to support local but it has to be easy and this partnership makes supporting local easier than ever.” Shona Byrne, project manager with Aberdeen Inspired, said: “The Aberdeen Gift Card being available on GiftRound is exciting and will bring the power of shop local to new audiences.
“Workplaces or groups of people can use GiftRound to collect money online for occasions like office gifts or the end of the school term, and then choose our local gift card to spend the collection on, giving the recipient the choice of over 300 fantastic local businesses and boosting our local economy.”
Founded in Perth, Miconex now operates over 200 local gift card programmes globally.
Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex said: “The partnership with GiftRound comes at a time when appetite for supporting local businesses has never been higher. Over £12.4 million of our local gift cards were purchased in 2023. In 2024, demand for our local gift cards is up 69% because they tap into key gifting trends such as support for local, avoiding waste and a preference for gift cards that offer choice.
“Town & City Gift Cards are unique in that they offer a blend of national brands with independent businesses. Our collaboration with GiftRound will drive even more footfall in our high streets, giving people money to spend with local businesses and ultimate local choice in one gift card.”
