presentation why buy it community card program overview 9.8.2010

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Property of Buy it Local, LLC | confidential information not for distribution

Tools to Grow Your Local Economy

Introduction to Community Card Systems:How it Can Make a Difference to Your Community & Economy

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® why cards?


• Americans buying gift

cards: 75%• Avg. spent per person:

$125-150• Annual Market Size:

$20-24B

The “Gift Card” Market

How many are local?

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why cards?


Approx. 5% l

ocal

Here’s real leakage out of local markets

Cards for local stores & cards for spending within local areas only represents approx. 5% (est.)

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why cards?


• High% of local or smaller retailers are adversely impacted.

• As national card trends grow, local retail gets farther behind in sales opportunities.

• Leakage of buying power is becoming increasingly critical to the tax base across the U.S.

The Importance: Lost Sales Income for Local Retailers

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economic future


the state of our nation

•Spending Has Outstripped GDP

•Public Debt Exceeds 13.7Trillion

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•

It’s imperative for local/regional /state communities to have a plan to capture any & all available consumer dollars & taxes NOW to negotiate the growing budget crunch and contraction in consumer spending.

national problemsthe state of our nation

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results2009 Holiday Spending Trend

Buy it*Downtown vs. National

1% 1.60%

17%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

U.S. Adj.for Returns+ U.S.* Buy it*Downtown

% C

hang

e 20

08-2

009

U.S. Adj.for Returns+

U.S.*

Buy it*Downtown

Source: Internal Data, Buy it*Dow ntow n, January 4, 2010

+Source: MasterCard

*Source: ShopperTrak

New York Times, Dec.30,2009

● Buy it*Downtown showed 963 -1,600% increase above national averages

•Buy it*® community card programs have shown they can increase spending to local merchants through their

program many times the national average .

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results

•While national consumer spending trends downward, Buy it*® community card programs have shown they can

drive new spending to local merchants .

May - Dec.

-1.0%

-0.8%-1.1%

-0.2%-0.1%

-0.4%

0.5%

0.7%

-1.5%

-1.0%

-0.5%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

National personalconsumptionexpenditures

Buy it Downtown-ChattanoogaRedemptions

National Consumer Spending Trendline

Sources: Dept.of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2.2.2009; Buy it*Downtown Internal Data, May.’08‐Dec.’08

Local Card Program Counters Negative Economy

1,124% increase

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Buy it*®Cards is a buy local program that’s more than talk-it locks in dollars for your merchants and community& creates measurable results…even in recession.

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how it works

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electronic tracking across merchantsauto funds transfer for merchant settlementonline account balances for enrolleesonline admin reports

COMMUNITY CARD SYSTEMSWORK JUST LIKE A GIFT CARD OR PREPAID CARD

Making it easier to patronize local merchants with contemporary consumer retail tools

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champions®•Corporate/Businesses-Employee Rewards-Customer Incentives-Gifting•Tourists•Schools•Colleges•Hospitals•Doctors Offices•Realtors•Developers•Professional•Groups-reunions, tours•Conventions•IndividualsIdeal for volume sales!


•City, Regional or State Elected Officials •Economic Development Programs (local, regional, state)•Defined (Retail) Corridors•Tourism / Convention Agencies•Chambers of Commerce•Private, Multi-tenant Retail Developers●Corporate Community•Private Colleges/Schools●Merchant Associations●Private Foundations•Revitalization Programs•Defined geographies, neighborhoods ●Urban/Downtown Areas•Community Based Programs/ Organizations

card buyerstarget target

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®• no activation required

• card registration encouraged for added protection if lost or stolen

• reloadable – at any sales location or online

• online card balance & statements*

• one card, useable at multi-locations

• no fees or penalties if used at least onceevery 12 months**

• any denomination $10-$500

Easy-to-Use!

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*registered cardholder benefits

**cards not used at least once in 12 months don’t help our economy! Inactivity fees of $5/month against unused balances will be charged until you use the card again

how it works

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– Visibly demonstrate your commitmentto your merchants & local economy

– Be countedYour transactions only count towards our community goal if you use a community card so it can be tracked

– Give great gifts, while helping community too– Support/contribute to community economic

development efforts- without spending moreSimply switch what you would normally give for gifts or rewards that you had budgeted & achieve 2 results with your purchase!

– Help build your retail planning databaseUsing your card as often as possible will help us track retail patterns which are helpful in understanding our merchant support and expansion efforts.

– Help protect your local tax basePurchases out of area lead to lower tax collections = higher tax rates

– Higher economic impactBy stopping consumer leakage from our market, we can actually grow our economy with less new investment

why buy cards?®


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– It’s an awesome gift- with lots of choice!People love them!

– There’s something for everyone.– It’s easy!

why buy cards?®


It’s the hip way to buy local.

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You can make a differenceon small businesses& your local economy,just by how you spend your money-maximize your impact by buying & spending community cards

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® more than cards


… a call to action for campaigns

other benefits of our community card program:

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® more than cards


…perfect complement for Special Events


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® more than cards


… tools for promotion & engaging community

Sweepstakes Winner

December 24th

•Card programs are more than a product

•Cards are a vehicle to connect, build excitement AND steer dollars to your merchants!


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® more than cards


… tons of occasions & uses

•your card designs

•Unlimited card styles

●…the possibilities are endless!the possibilities are endless!“Thank you for Visiting x City” cards“Shop x City” cards“Thank You” customer cards“Welcome to xCity” cards“Come Explore xCity” cards“Night-on-the-Town” cards“Student Advantage” cards

… ALL designed to

drive $ to your local businesses

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®


Every Card Has Visibility / Impacts at Least 3 Persons:

•Card programs can increase the number involved & affected by you‐ reinforces brand of sponsors too!

XYZ Local Gift Card

1 2

3 Receiver (cardholder)

Buyer

1 or More Merchants

Triple Visibility

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Card Programs Connect & Engage ACROSS the Community

Corporate Community(card buyers)

Merchants/Local

Retailers(redeeming/sales locations)Community

Groups/Schools/Others

(card buyers & cardholders)

Consumers/General Public

(card buyers & cardholders)

Government(tax beneficiaries)

Realtors/Developers(card buyers & merchant incentives)

Broaden Support

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– Competitive Alternative to National Cards$24B industry/year

– Capture & Steer Consumer Dollars to You– Brings NEW Business

survey of card buyers show 90+% bought other gift card type options before

– Extends Holiday Buying Season– Better Positioned to Capture

Group/Corporate Businessmulti-merchant advantage, few merchants can achieve on own

– Marketing & Promotion with Participationweb directory, card listings; potential blast emails, campaigns, more

merchant benefits®


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– Stone Soup & Market Differentiation creates more than sum of parts, creates a totally unique offering

– Consumers Like Themcards are sexy & convenient, people love them & love having choice!

– Electronic Tracking get your reports online

– Merchants Can Sell Cards, Drive Traffic to Location

– Easy Operation mom & pops to cinemas, groceries, boutiques & restaurants-it’s easy for everyone

– Local Retail Statistics builds database of local consumer patterns for future retail planning & understanding of your marketplace

merchant benefits®


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more results*®


• Merchant ROI Avg.: 711%

• High Performing ROI: 2,900-4,900%

• Avg. Spending Beyond Card Face Value: 40%

• Avg. Card Sales Growth: 75-135% annually

• Avg. Value Card Sold: $40.00

• Avg. Redemption: $ 17.53

*your own card program results may vary depending on the composition of your merchant network, geography and sales efforts; the profile above is based on current program averages and does not guarantee exact results

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® more than cards


one-of-a-kind reporting and tracking system

……the results are measurable!the results are measurable!

The buy it*® proprietary, web based management system is the only turnkey card program available specifically designed for economic development & planning use.

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®

about buy it*®


• specializes in custom, private electronic card networks

• buy it*® is the leading turnkey card program specifically designed for communities & economic development

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® “Community”buy it*® creates

Card Systems

Card systems for localspending to help

grow local economiesProperty of Buy it Local, LLC | confidential information not for distribution

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® about us


Buy it*® community card programs leverage consumer technologies and national transaction processing platforms to create customized, local transaction networks to steer and track spending for economic development purposes. Buy it*® community economic tools are created by Buy it Local, LLC.

Buy it Local developed and implemented the flagship community card program for downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee known as “Buy it*downtown®” which began operation in 2007.

Buy it Local Company expertise includes:economic development, banking, technology, strategic planning, finance, retail

who are the creators of Buy it*®

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® building on success


Beta Site Program: Buy it*Downtown® (Chattanooga)•Buy it*downtown® currently operates the community card program for downtown Chattanooga. •Buy it*downtown® started in partnership with the Lyndhurst and Benwood Foundations in 2007 to benefit downtown merchants. •Even though the program exists for a limited geographic footprint and was started during the economic recession, it has experienced triple digit growth and successfully created over $1M in economic impact in a short time. •Blue Cross Blue Shield Tennessee is an active participant in thedowntown community card program. Using Buy it*downtown® cards as their exclusive holiday gift and one of two approved management rewards option. BCBST has channeled budgeted corporate employeeexpenses to directly benefit some 80 local merchants, instead of using online and other vendors.

It’s this type of choice that can have a real stimulus effect on businesses. Buy it Local has tools to make it happen.

expanding a model that already works

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® operating performance

Buy it*Transaction Network: 0% Down TimeTransaction Platform Volume/Yr: 4MillionEFT Platform Volume/Yr: $1B


Buy it*® is the best of both worlds:robust, national architecture + local market customization

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Transaction Network Platform: Massachusetts & ColoradoData Centers/Hosting: Colorado & CaliforniaEFT Processing Platform: TennesseeCustomer Service: TennesseeTechnical Support: TennesseePayment Processing: TennesseeDecision Support Programming: TennesseeSystems Integration: TennesseeSales: TennesseeBuy it*®Headquarters: Chattanooga, TN

locations®


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to learn more

website: www.buyitcards.comemail: [email protected]: (888)88 -buy it

(423)643-0715

Buy it*®Cards is a product and service of Buy it Local, LLC.We would love to work with you to benefit your economy,

businesses and community.

contact us®


presentation why buy it community card program overview 9.8.2010

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