Rancho Mirage councilors on Dec. 4 approved a holiday bonus promotion for the city’s Shop Local gift card program, a marketing initiative staff said supports small local businesses by incentivizing purchases with a 50% bonus match.

Director of marketing Gabe Cotting reported the program launched in November 2024 and, to date, has issued more than $280,000 in gift cards with over 3,200 redemptions and 69 participating local businesses, concentrated in dining and wellness. The proposed promotion would run Dec. 5, 2025 through Feb. 17, 2026 with a 50% bonus on purchases (for example, a $50 purchase receives a $25 bonus card); the bonus card program is funded by a $50,000 bonus pool and individual purchases can go up to $500.

Cotting described platform improvements including a tap‑to‑pay/digital‑wallet feature and ongoing negotiations with Mastercard to enable partial authorizations so remaining balances can be combined with another payment form. Council members praised the program for supporting mom‑and‑pop businesses; the motion to implement the holiday bonus passed 5–0.

Staff will proceed with the soft opening and full public launch dates described in the staff report and return with any implementation details as needed.