New gift card available for holiday shopping in Columbia

Small businesses in Columbia are offering residents a new way to shop local this holiday season.

Residents can now use one gift card at over 60 businesses downtown. The gift cards do not expire and will be sold year-round. Residents can purchase a gift card on the District’s website. Additionally, customers can also stop at the group’s office to pick one up in-person.

The Downtown Community Improvement District launched the card a few weeks ahead of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. With the holidays just around the corner, many shoppers may be looking to check some items off their list this week. Data shows U.S. consumers are expected to spend up to $989 billion this November and December.

The District’s executive director Nickie Davis said the group hopes the gift card encourages residents to spend some of this money locally.

“It is a great time to shop local,” Davis said. “The summers in a college town can be really hard. Our big audience leaves, so it’s an important time to support your small businesses.”

Skylark Bookshop is one of the many stores the gift card applies to. According to owner Carrie Koepke, the gift card is handy for customers to use.

“It gives people an opportunity to purchase globally for the whole area,” Koepke said. “People are able to make date nights out of it. You know, let’s go out to dinner and then get a book.”

Koepke added like many locally-owned stores, the holidays account for the majority of its business.

“Especially for book stores, the holiday season makes up a significant part of our year,” Koepke said. “It’s ride or die time.”

Boone Olive Oil Co. is also participating in the gift card. Owner Munir Mohammad said he appreciates community members’ support during this busy season of shopping.

“It’s great to see people come downtown, and take the effort and the time to come down here,” Mohammad said. “We hit the ground running at Thanksgiving and it stays busy.”

Koepke said support from residents in the community helps keep storefronts open downtown.

“Indies [independent businesses] survive because of their communities,” Koepke said. “There are many times throughout our existence that we would not have survived without the support of our customers.”

Community leaders said it’s local businesses that help make up the very fabric of Columbia.

“It’s what keeps Columbia different and interesting,” Davis said. “You can’t go to another downtown and find all of these interesting businesses. I don’t think anyone wants to see a generic downtown happen here.”