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Loyalty cards should work for independent shops too

Dec 11 2007

Loyalty cards for retail SMEs could be a way of luring shoppers back to the high streets, claims an industry expert.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) says independent retailers 'have been dwindling' due to how competitive and expensive it is for these businesses to operate.

Malcolm Pinkerton, business analyst for the BRC, says: 'If you look at loyalty cards they have been extremely successful for the big multiple supermarkets. There is no reason why it shouldn't be as successful for the independents.'

He believes that the ways consumers shop has changed over the last 15 to 20 years with people now returning to the high street out of convenience.

'We are not so much going to the big out of town shopping park or shopping centres. It is still very much flourishing,' he claims.

A number of campaigns have been waged in an attempt to save independent retailers from extinction as large supermarkets are seen as the focal point for retail in many towns.

In 2006, Friends of the Earth launched its campaign after more than 2,000 shops were forced to close in 2004.

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