Shopping Local has its Rewards
By Albert B. Kelly
By now, most of you know
that there is a lot of emphasis these days on shopping local. Most of it has to
do with supporting our local merchants; many of whom are our friends,
neighbors, and even family members; but it also has to do with keeping retail
dollars within our local economy to the extent possible. Until now, the appeal
to “shop local” rested mostly on a sense of hometown pride, convenience, or
familiarity; but going forward, Bridgeton could support these motivations with
a direct cash incentive to our residents for shopping locally at our
Bridgeton-based businesses.
The incentive comes
courtesy of Marlboro-based Fincredit, Inc and it is a Property Tax Rewards or
PTR program- somewhat similar to those you might find with traditional gift or
loyalty card programs in place at big box retailers or supermarkets. The
purpose of the program is to reward our residents for shopping locally, while
at the same time increasing sales volume for Bridgeton merchants. The more
Bridgeton residents shop in Bridgeton, the more property tax dollars they would
accumulate towards their individual property tax bills and the more volume our
merchants would see. As for renters, they would receive a cash rebate instead
of a property tax credit.
After some initial
discussions with our partners at Bridgeton Main Street, City-staff, and
Fincredit; we will be bringing the program to City Council in the days ahead
for formal approval and setting up a meeting with prospective participating
merchants to lock all the pieces in place, but I think this will have a great
benefit for our local businesses. In terms of how the program will work; it’s fairly
simple.
Participating merchants
pay a $10 monthly fee, plus whatever the amount of the credit they decide on.
Homeowners and renters will receive a Shop Bridgeton “swipe card” to use and
when residents shop at a participating Bridgeton store, they would present the
card when they go to pay at the point-of-sale. The retailer swipes the card and
a percentage of the purchase is eventually applied to that resident’s tax bill;
while renters would receive a rebate check. Credit percentages are set by the
retailer, but they generally range anywhere from 3.5% to 15%.
We would be distributing a
“shop local” or “shop Bridgeton” property tax rewards card to both homeowners
and renters in Bridgeton and once the individual card holders activate their
card on-line with Fincredit, they would be able to use these cards with any
participating Bridgeton-based business. So it will be a matter of having
Bridgeton merchants commit to participating in the program as well as residents
activating their cards and using them.
In terms of how a typical
transaction might work; let’s say the cost of a dinner for 4 people at a local restaurant
participating in the PTR program, (giving a 20% property tax reward), is $200.
When paying the bill at checkout (cash, credit or debit), the customer would
also present their “shop local” reward card. The reward card is then swiped and
a $40 property tax credit, (the 20% credit less processing and management fees)
is generated. For property owners, rewards from all purchases made at
participating merchants would be credited to their property tax bill before their
next tax bill is issued and for renters, they would receive a rebate check.
Fincredit administers the
program and they have an integrated system that allows them to easily transport
cardholder account information to our tax collector so that property owners
receive the appropriate discount on their property tax bill. For renters, a
rebate check would be sent directly to them from Fincredit. Cardholders can
also track their credits on-line throughout the year as well. Households can
have multiple cards and Fincredit maintains a list of local participating
merchants under the “participation tab” on their website so you know which
stores are in the program.
The program has met with
great success in other New Jersey communities including Voorhees; where more
than 50 merchants have signed up to participate in the program in that
community. The goal is to provide Bridgeton City taxpayers and residents with a
financial incentive to shop at Bridgeton businesses, and at the same time provide
Bridgeton-based businesses with a tool to drive up sales volume. All told, I believe
this will be a very effective tool for helping our local businesses and our residents
and toward that end; we will be reaching out to all segments of the community in
the days ahead.