“What we’re encouraging is, before you click the mouse to do online shopping or travel out of town, just take a second to think about those people that [conduct] business and work in the businesses in the CBD and Whanganui as a whole,” he said.
Project manager Charlie Meyerhoff said she wanted to offer them as a way of revitalising local businesses in the CBD, which had been feeling the effects of Covid-19.
“So this Christmas, rather than going for your typical Prezzy Card, buy a voucher that supports local,” Meyerhoff said.
The vouchers can purchased as one-offs from from the Whanganui i-Site or in bulk directly from Mainstreet Whanganui, with values ranging from $10 to $100.
Meyerhoff said it had been crucial to get as many businesses involved as possible for the project to be successful.
When she started work, 15 businesses had signed up, but with the now vouchers ready to go, the number had increased to 62.
Among those 62, she said there was a wide range of businesses for people of many tastes and interests to find something that suits them.
“From beauty to food establishments to bookstores.
“We have a real uniqueness about Whanganui. We might not have all the big chain stores, but we have a lot of unique, exciting boutique shops,” she said.
One of those businesses was the Bookhunters bookstore.
Store co-owner Sumita Dale said Bookhunters got involved in the project when Meyerhoff came to visit.
“We thought it was really good for the local businesses,” she said.
“I think it’ll encourage people to shop in Whanganui, and also make people aware of our business and the other ones that are involved in this.”
The vouchers would be particularly useful for this time of year with the holiday season coming up, and getting people to do their present buying locally was something she and other local businesses liked to see.
Meyerhoff said people would only be able to redeem each voucher in one store.
“You can’t purchase a $100 voucher, go into a bookstore and buy one book for $20 and then keep the credit, so you do need to spend the full amount.”
The monetary value of the voucher would then go directly to the store.
A full list of participating businesses can be found on the Aroha Vouchers page of the Mainstreet Whanganui website.
Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.
