Consumption vouchers are a hit in Canary Islands. A majority of the 80,000 coupons offering a 50% discount, which the regional government activated today to boost commerce in the islands, were sold out within just two hours. 75% of the vouchers, covering all the islands except Gran Canaria, were sold before 2:00 p.m..
There came a point in the morning when the sales rate reached 280 vouchers per minute. However, on the round island, by this afternoon (at 5:00 p.m.), there were still 22,000 vouchers out of the initial 29,620 available yet to be sold.
The website where users could purchase the coupons was overwhelmed since early morning, causing users to have to wait for over an hour to make their purchase. The virtual queue amassed over 18,000 people waiting. This unexpected success surprised the officials from the Ministry of Economy, Industry, Commerce, and Self-Employed of the Government of the Canary Islands, who admitted “they did not expect” the initiative to have “such pull in such a short time” and associated the slow sales pace in Gran Canaria with the “lack of previous experience”. Here is more information about the success of discount vouchers in the Canary Islands.
Disparities
[–>
By yesterday afternoon, users had already redeemed €663,048 in stores across the archipelago. The majority, €462,180, in establishments in Tenerife. “The campaign has resonated more in other islands due to previous experience with vouchers activated in the past by other administrations,” explained the Minister of Economy, Manuel Domínguez. The difference between islands is not only noticeable in the pace of voucher sales, but also in the number of establishments that have joined the campaign since April 3.
Across all of the Canary Islands, there are already 2,000 businesses that have joined – between completed and pending requests – the campaign, with Gran Canaria only concentrating 13% (259) despite being one of the most populated islands. In contrast, Tenerife already boasts 846 joined businesses and 264 pending ones, totaling 1,110 locations where discounts can be redeemed. 56% of the total. Nevertheless, the regional government is optimistic that more establishments in Gran Canaria will join by the end of the initiative on June 15.
The 80,000 vouchers are distributed across the islands. In Tenerife, 29,455 were put up for sale; in El Hierro 2,419; in La Gomera 2,826; in La Palma 4,293; in Gran Canaria 29,620; in Lanzarote and La Graciosa 6,469; and in Fuerteventura 4,920
Winners who managed to secure one of the €25 vouchers today can redeem them from today – until June – at participating establishments for items worth double that value, i.e., €50. The initiative allows a single user to redeem multiple vouchers in a single purchase. However, a maximum spending limit of €5,000 per establishment has been set, so the vouchers can be used until the store’s balance is depleted. Some exceeded this limit yesterday.
Despite the disparity in figures, examples of the frenzy caused by the vouchers were evident in Gran Canaria. Customers at the children’s store Trapitos y Nudos lined up since morning, reserving their favorite items to redeem the vouchers from when they acquired them at 12:00 p.m. The €5,000 spending limit was reached before lunchtime. This scenario was repeated across all the islands. “Several businesses in Tenerife reached the limit early on, as the island was aware of the high success rate of such campaigns,” stated this afternoon the Deputy Minister of Industry, Commerce, and Consumption of the Canary Islands Government, Felipe Afonso El Jaber.
The swift success of the campaign caught Domínguez’s team off guard, who had planned actions this week to incentivize voucher purchases. With no discount coupons left, these initiatives lose their purpose. “We will focus on informing establishments not yet familiar with the vouchers to ensure the majority of businesses join,” noted the department.
[–>
A wide range of establishments can join. Participation is open to those in food, electronics, IT, telecommunications, DIY, toy shops, party articles, bookstores, fashion, sports, accessories, and also the catering services of open commercial areas. However, the rules state that vouchers cannot be redeemed for the purchase of tobacco or e-cigarettes, lotteries and betting, alcoholic beverages, mobile phone top-ups, subscriptions to online platforms, or gift vouchers not redeemable within the program’s validity period.
Subscribe to continue reading
