SMALL BUSINESS ACTS LIKE BIG BUSINESS Toronto’s First Neighbourhood e-Gift Card
by Rob Sysak, November 1, 2016
Toronto, ON – One of Toronto’s trendiest shopping destinations, West Queen West (WQW) between Bathurst and Gladstone, is set to launch Toronto’s first Neighbourhood e-Gift Card program on November 1st. The WQW e-Gift Card provides shoppers with a more local alternative rather than a mall gift card or big box chains. Maybe they could look at purchasing bulk gift cards for their existing clients and this, in turn, could bring in some potential clients to their doorstep!
Let’s look at how it works: shoppers can purchase an e-gift card from the WQW website and send it by email, text, or Facebook Message. The gift card is redeemable at a variety of local WQW restaurants, cafes, spas, salons, retailers, and specialty shops.
Some of the places you can use The WQW e-Gift Card include Downward Dog Yoga Centre, Gladstone Hotel, Jacob and Sebastian, Mini Mioche, Morba, Smoque N’ Bones and many other local favorites. A full list of participating businesses can be found on the WQW website and can also be spotted with a WQW e-Gift Card sticker in their window.
The WQW Gift Card program was created in partnership between Toronto startup AnyCard, the WQW BIA, and local businesses. When asked about this exciting initiative, Chad Molleken, Co-Founder and CEO of AnyCard, stated, “We want to be a champion for local businesses by providing them with innovative ways to compete with the big guys. A neighbourhood gift card is one of the ways we do that.”
Rob Sysak, Executive Director of the WQW BIA, noted, “We are really excited to be the first neighbourhood in Toronto to have our own e-Gift Card. WQW knows that for us to continue to be successful, WQW needs to act like big business, and digital technologies like the e-Gift Card will make that happen. Big thank you to AnyCard!”
To help kick off the program, the WQW BIA will be giving away a $100 WQW Gift Card every Friday until mid-December and one grand prize of a $1000 shopping spree before Christmas. To learn more about the WQW contests and to enter for your chance to win please visit westqueenwest.ca/2016-giveaway/
Here is a preview of the first 60 WQW e-Gift Card participating businesses with many more to come.
| Bang Fitness
Ben Sherman BLVD Interiors Brass Vixens Brika Cadillac Jenkins Canon Blanc Carmen Chippy’s Fish and Chips Collab Collections Cutler+ Gross Cycle Motive Dat Salon Deluxe Boutique Downward Dog Yoga Centre Dufflet Pastries ella+elliot Fashionably Yours Fidel Gastro Fresh Collective |
Giant Toronto
Gladstone Cafe Gladstone Hotel Good Hearts Greek & Co H Bar Hayley Elsaesser Iceman Video Games Jacob and Sebastian Kol Kid KOLWEAR La Hacienda Restaurant Layover Boutique Lisa Marie MagPie Design Milagro Mini Mioche Morba Niche Coffee + Tea Company Old Penguin |
Park And Province
Parlour Salon Pink Optical Platinum Health Pure Barre R Squared Cafe Reiners Rickshaw Bar Smile White Smoque N’ Bones Street Shak Caribbean Kitchen Stuart Jackson Gallery The County General The Cure Apothecary The Spice Trader & Olive Pit TOMA Burger Addiction Tusk Visual Eyes Optical Yogurty’s Zane |