Sales of the Bury St Edmunds Town Centre Gift Card almost doubled during 2025, giving a significant boost to local businesses.

Shoppers spent nearly £50,000 purchasing the Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District (BID)-supported gift cards over the year, while spending by customers using the cards in town centre businesses increased by around 20 per cent compared with 2024.

The strongest performance was recorded in November and December, when more than £30,000 was spent on buying gift cards in the run-up to Christmas. This represented a 50 per cent increase on the same period last year and is expected to benefit the local economy further as recipients begin spending their cards in early 2026.

The gift card is now accepted by 85 businesses across the town centre, spanning retail, food and drink, leisure and wellbeing sectors.

Our Bury St Edmunds BID Business Support Manager Mike Kirkham said the growth reflects both customer demand and business support.

“The increasing popularity, both among purchasers and businesses that accept it, is down to a number of reasons,” he said. “Customers love the variety of retail, food and drink, leisure and wellbeing options that it gives – including both independents and high street names.

“We know that the desire to ‘shop local’ is important to many in Bury St Edmunds, and this is a great way to do so. It’s also really easy to purchase or use and backed by well-known and trusted brands.”

The gift card forms part of the multi-award-winning Town & City Gift Cards initiative, powered by Miconex. Operating on the Mastercard network, the scheme allows cards to be used both online and in person, with management through local stockists.

Figures also show a 40 per cent increase in spending on the card during November and December compared with the previous year, with around £10,000 spent in town centre businesses over the two-month period.

Mr Kirkham added that 2025 marked the first full year of offering a digital version of the card, which accounted for just over 10 per cent of purchases.

“I expect that to grow,” he said. “However, the most popular way to gift the card remains purchasing it from one of the nine town centre stockists and loading the value directly onto it.”

Sales of the gift card to businesses making bulk purchases, such as for staff rewards or company initiatives, also rose by 50 per cent during the year.

More information on where the gift card can be spent and how to purchase it is available via the Our Bury St Edmunds website.