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Baldwin Park oversight committee hears positive update on city gift‑card program
Summary
City staff and a consultant updated the Baldwin Park Stakeholders Oversight Committee on the local gift‑card program relaunch, reporting strong redemption rates, $143,740 in revenue from the recent phase and a remaining program balance of $12,530 with a $15,000 contingency available.
The Baldwin Park Stakeholders Oversight Committee received an update March 11 on the city’s gift‑card program, a locally focused “buy‑one‑get‑one” initiative relaunched in November 2024 that aims to boost small business revenue. Consultants and city staff told the committee the program has generated material local spending since the relaunch.
The committee was told the program currently includes 28 participating merchants, of which 22 are restaurants or food businesses. Since January 2023 the program has issued about 2,158 cards in total; 1,815 new cards were purchased since the November 2024 relaunch and about 908 BOGO (buy‑one‑get‑one) cards were part of that activity. Presenters said more than 4,300 gift cards worth roughly $374,000 have been issued overall and about 92% of cards have been redeemed. The relaunch phase generated $143,740 in revenue for local merchants; the program balance stood at $12,530 and city staff said a $15,000 contingency is available to add once the balance is exhausted.
“The program is designed for small local businesses,” said Ken, the consultant who presented the slides, noting the program excludes large national chains. He added that participating businesses that actively market the cards to regular customers tended to show the highest redemption totals.
Committee members asked detailed questions about the accounting of cards. Member Nguyen pressed for clarification on the numbers and the presenter confirmed that the 1,815 figure represented new cards sold since the relaunch and that the 2,158 figure is the program total since the program began in early 2023. Staff said the vendor, Yifty, is beta‑testing a tap‑to‑pay function that could simplify redemption at registers and that staff expects that integration within about a month.
City staff also credited social‑media outreach for attracting both residents and nonresident visitors to participating businesses. The consultant said the vendor’s dashboard allows merchants and staff to track card balances online, and staff described the clerks’ initial learning curve entering 12‑digit card numbers at busy registers before the tap option is available.
The committee did not take formal action during the update; staff said they would continue outreach and monitoring and return with metrics as the program proceeds.
