The High Street Voucher Scheme brought almost 1.4million shoppers on to Northern Ireland's high streets where they made over 3.7million transactions, Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has revealed.
The pre-paid Spend Local cards worth £100 were issued late last year to help businesses bounce back from set-backs caused by the coronavirus lockdown.
Read more: High Street Voucher Northern Ireland 'remedy payments' announced
The scheme, run by the Department for the Economy, opened on September 27 and closed at midnight on December 19.
It had been due to close at the end of November but the deadline was extended due to problems with delivering cards.
Mr Lyons published new data on the scheme on Monday, including the uptake and use of the Spend Local cards along with a breakdown of spending and transactions by local government district and by postcode area.
He said that the scheme injected at least £136.6m into the local economy, leading to an improved level of consumer confidence and increased levels of public spending.
The data also reveals that almost £2.7 million was left unspent on activated cards.
Mr Lyons described the scheme as "a huge success", which achieved exactly what it set out to do.
“It brought shoppers back on to the High Street and has helped and supported our local retail, hospitality and service sectors start their journey of recovery from the devastating impact of the pandemic," Mr Lyons said.
“I am really pleased to announce that 1,399,051 people were issued with a Spend Local card, of which 1,393,043 – or 99.6% – were activated. This is a tremendous achievement.
“The scheme was designed to provide an economic boost to the local economy and to this end £136.6million has been injected into the economy.
“This can be clearly seen from the fact that nearly 1.4million customers visited our local shops, restaurants, bars, cafés, cinemas, hairdressers across all parts of Northern Ireland during the lifetime of the scheme and over 3.7million new transactions were made using the Spend Local card.
“Of course, we know that many of these customers will have spent more than the £100 on their Spend Local card. So the figure – in real terms – will be greater.”
The Minister said early analysis showed the benefits of the scheme were enjoyed in all parts of Northern Ireland.
He said: “Over £27million was spent in Belfast, over £12million in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon while over £10million was spent in each of the following local council areas – Newry, Mourne and Down; Derry and Strabane; Antrim and Newtownabbey; Lisburn and Castlereagh; and Ards and North Down.
“In Mid and East Antrim, the figure was over £9million. In Causeway Coast and Glens and in Mid Ulster, more than £8million was spent, while the figure for Fermanagh and Omagh was just over £7.5million.”
Mr Lyons said the scale of the task of delivering the High Street Scheme was unprecedented as, in a matter of weeks, his Department implemented a process which manufactured, dispatched and delivered cards to close to 1.4million people – each card unique to each applicant, including bespoke embossed cards for the visually impaired and blind.
According to an Ulster Bank Survey, retail sales in Northern Ireland rose in November 2021 for the first time in four months.
The bank's Chief Economist Richard Ramsey said the High Street Scheme undoubtedly contributed to the pick-up in demand.
Research in December 2021 also showed an increase in shoppers on Northern Ireland’s high streets.
The figures published by the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) showed a boost to the number of people going into shops or businesses in October continuing in November following the introduction of the High Street Scheme.
In November, the number of shoppers in Northern Ireland reached their highest point so far compared to the pre-pandemic level.
Mr Lyons added: “The people from which I was most pleased to hear were the business owners who needed the scheme to help them cope with the impact of the pandemic.
“On a personal level, these individuals – shopkeepers, barbers, newsagents, publicans, café owners, the list goes on – brought it home to me why this scheme was so important.”
Meanwhile the Department for the Economy has issued over 22,000 emails to verified applicants who may be eligible for a remedy payment in relation to the scheme.
Anyone who qualifies for the payment will receive an amount equal to the balance on the Spend Local card when the scheme closed in Decembe.
It is anticipated that these payments will be made in late March/early April 2022.
Read more: Nichola Mallon announces freeze on public transport fares in light of cost of living crisis
Read more: Cost of living crisis: Where to find help if you're struggling with soaring household bills
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
