City of San Luis Obispo offering rewards to incentivize shopping local this holiday season

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The City of San Luis Obispo announced it will be offering rewards to incentivize people to shop local during this holiday season.

The city provided the following press release:

Beginning Friday, November 24, shoppers who spend $100 at local retailers can qualify for a $25 gift card to another local business, while supplies last.

To qualify for a gift card, spend $100 or more on retail purchases at any San Luis Obispo business and bring a copy of your itemized receipt(s) to the San Luis Obispo Visitor Center. Participants can then choose between available gift cards. This program will continue until funds are exhausted and shoppers can qualify up to three times through Christmas Eve. 

“The community tells us year after year how important this program is to them, which is why we’ve invested in it more this year than ever before,” said City Manager Derek Johnson. “This holiday season, we hope community members will come out to enjoy our beautiful city and support the small businesses that help make SLO so special.” 

The City of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce are partnering for the fourth year in a row to bring Buy Local Bonus back to the community and incentivize spending locally throughout the holiday season. The City is purchasing gift cards from local businesses to support SLO’s economic vitality at a time when online shopping is posing an ever growing threat to small business. The program injected more than $800,000 into the local economy last year, and the City has committed an additional $125,000 to this year’s Buy Local Bonus to purchase more gift cards.

“Opting to spend money locally instead of online or at big box stores will ensure the success of our business community,” said Jim Dantona, President/CEO for the SLO Chamber of Commerce. “Local businesses rely on the extra push the holiday season brings in, and choosing to support them is important now more than ever.”

And for those heading downtown, the deal is made even sweeter with SLO’s twelve days of holiday parking. The City will offer twelve free days of parking in addition to one hour of free parking every day in the structures. Dates include Thanksgiving weekend (November 23, 24, 25 and 26), every Sunday in December (December 3, 10, 17 and 24), Christmas Day (December 25) and New Year’s Eve and Day (December 31 and January 1).

Buy Local Bonus | November 24-December 24, 2023 (while supplies last)
Shoppers can participate up to three separate times by spending $300+ between November 24 and December 24, 2023. Only receipts from businesses that sell retail goods qualify for Buy Local Bonus. In the spirit of shopping small, receipts from the following business types do not qualify: Big box retailers, restaurants, convenience and drug stores, grocery stores and supermarkets, lodging businesses, and fueling or gas stations.

Additionally, to support local eateries, breweries, bakeries and coffee shops, the City is bringing back Eat Local Bonus for the second year running. From January 2 through January 31, 2024, diners who spend $100 at any food or beverage establishment will be eligible for a $25 gift card. To encourage supporting local dining establishments even more, the City will also debut Restaurant Week, where participating dining establishments will offer a special pairing. From January 12-21, diners that order any Restaurant Week pairing can enter to win a grand prize including gift cards from all participating restaurants.

For more information about the Buy Local Bonus program, visit www.slocity.org/BuyLocalBonus.