Quad-Cities Business Leaders Urge You to Shop Local This Holiday Season
This is the first part of a multi-part series on local businesses heading into the holiday season. All the stories will be dropping on QuadCities.com between 2 and 5 p.m. today. Please shop local this holiday season and support our local businesses!
With the economic and health devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the holiday shopping season is more important than ever for independent Quad-Cities businesses.
The Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce is promoting its recent “Keep It QC” campaign, to urge local residents to keep their consumer dollars in the regional economy.
The Q-C Chamber is promoting the “Keep It QC” program to improve local spending during the holiday season.
“The past year has challenged many of our businesses and communities across the region in unprecedented ways, which is why it’s more important than ever to drive local spending to them,” said Chamber President & CEO Paul Rumler. “Doing so helps them recover faster and keep our region vibrant for the future.”
To further boost local spending, the chamber will offer a bonus $25 virtual Visa Reward with the purchase of a $100 Keep It QC Visa Gift Card on Small Business Saturday to the first 210 buyers while supplies last. Small Business Saturday is Saturday, Nov. 28, which takes place annually the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.
The Keep It QC gift card and rewards program was launched as part of the Chamber’s “Keep It QC” movement, focused on improving our economy and community through local spending. The program is a way for consumers to buy local or to gift local to others by purchasing cards redeemable at a variety of area merchants.
he chamber offers a bonus $25 virtual Visa Reward with the purchase of a $100 Keep It QC Visa Gift Card on Small Business Saturday.
The gift cards are available for purchase to be used at any Q-C merchant that accepts Visa cards – retailers, restaurants, salons and spas, boutiques, sports and entertainment, hotels, and more.
Consumers can earn the $25 virtual Visa Reward by purchasing a $100 Keep It QC Visa Gift Card beginning at 9 a.m., Saturday, at this website — https://thecommunitygiftcard.com/keepitqc.
After purchasing on the site, buyers or their gift recipient will receive a physical card in the mail within 8 to 15 business days. A $25 virtual Visa Reward will be automatically emailed within 24 hours to the purchaser upon completion of order and is ready to be activated for use. Virtual rewards expire four months after issue date and are limited to one per email.
Paul Rumler is president/CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber.
Participating merchants in the Keep It QC gift card and rewards program are highlighted on the site as those who accept the special Keep It QC card and in many cases, offer a perk on the site to incent the card’s use at their particular place of business.
Once activated, gift cards are multi-use and can be used everywhere around the Quad Cities where Visa debit cards are accepted except gas pumps, ATMs, cash access and for recurring payments.
Not only do Keep It QC shoppers have the opportunity to earn a virtual reward on Small Business Saturday, the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP), an affiliate of the Chamber, will select shoppers at random to receive physical Keep It QC Visa Gift Cards when making purchases at downtown retailers that day.
The promotion is part of its inaugural “Pay It Forward Day.” DDP staff will roam downtown Davenport throughout the day and surprise shoppers with a total of $500 worth of Keep It QC Visa Gift Cards.
In addition, DDP is hosting a special Cyber Monday event on Nov. 30, where shoppers that buy online at participating downtown businesses can get their goodies delivered to their door for free on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The delivery address must be within a 10-mile radius of downtown and only includes dry goods and packaged products at this time. Visit DDP’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/downtowndavenport) for details.
