Press Release

Octopus Announces #NeighbourDOOD Merchant Support Scheme

Community Campaign to Help Small Shops Drive Digital Transformation and Join the Government's Consumption Voucher Scheme

(Hong Kong, 8 June 2021) Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) shows its deep community ties in Hong Kong by announcing the launch of the Octopus #NeighbourDOOD Merchant Support Scheme (the Scheme), which aims to facilitate small neighbourhood merchants across the city with digital transformation and help them take advantage of the Government's Consumption Voucher Scheme (CVS).OCL's goal is to encourage citywide support of small businesses and bring together neighbouring communities to create more business opportunities.

OCL will engage a professional digital marketing agency to assist each merchant with setting up a social media business account and provide each of them a tailored digital promotion strategy. At the same time, OCL will offer each merchant HK$8,000 worth of online media placement and marketing budget for promotion of their unique story and signature products. In all, the Scheme aims to help preserve and promote the city's distinctive cultural and culinary heritage.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on small businesses in Hong Kong, particularly those operating in the retail and F&B sectors. In addition to offering free reader setup and rental fee waiver, OCL now takes a step further by sponsoring small merchants over a million dollars to help them enhance their digital capabilities. During the first phase of the Scheme, OCL is calling for nominations of shops by the general public and shop owners, and will select and engage 108 shops spanning the city's 18 districts – targeting those whose historical and cultural values contribute to the city's identity including traditional local shops, handicraft shops and value-for-money specialty shops.

OCL Sales and Marketing Director Rita Li said, "OCL understands the challenges for small merchants and they see the need to go digital in order to sustain and thrive. Therefore, we want to help them by reaching out to the community and getting customers find their way to them through digital marketing. OCL has been offering fast and convenient electronic payment solutions for small- and medium-sized merchants for over two decades. Through the Scheme, we hope to support even more neighbourhood shops to keep pace with the trend of digital transformation. This will not only increase visibility for small merchants and enhance their competitiveness, but also help people from all walks of life meet their shopping needs. OCL will promote these shops, their stories and features on Octopus social media platforms and the Octopus App."

In mid-June 2021, OCL will launch the event webpage "#NeighbourDOOD ̶ Nomination of My Favorite Shops", where visitors or shop owners can nominate their favourite "hidden" specialty shops in the city*. A total of 108 small shops will be selected using the following three criteria:

• Business size – shops that have been operating for more than a year, have no more than three branches and 50 employees
• Locality – shops registered in Hong Kong, particularly local brands; and
• Specialty – shops with a history, a unique story, traditional handicraft shops, social enterprises or trades remiscient of local culture

*During the Scheme, any small shops, not limited to existing Octopus merchants can be nominated by the general public or shop owners. Those selected will be offered with the Scheme subsidy.

For details of the Scheme, please visit www.octopus.com.hk/neighbourdood (to be launched in mid-June), Facebook page (八達通 Octopus) and Instagram page (@octopushongkong).

 

Photo captions

1) Octopus website banner advertisement of the Octopus #NeighbourDOOD Merchant Support Scheme

2) Chow Kee Sauce's owner introduced the sauce-making process to OCL Sales and Marketing Director Rita Li. He pointed out that today, only a few shops still follow the traditional sauce making methods

3) Chow Kee Sauce's most popular product is its signature soy sauce, which has a history of over 20 years

4) Chow Kee Sauce's variety of homemade sauces

5) The application procedures for the Octopus Business App and Octopus Mobile POS are simple and convenient, it only takes 3 days to open an account

6) Mak Kam-sang is the last minibus sign calligrapher in the city. He has been in charge of the Hawk Advertising design and calligraphy of minibus signs since the 1980s

7) OCL Sales and Marketing Director Rita Li hopes that the Octopus #NeighbourDOOD Merchant Support Scheme can help drive more foot traffic to the physical stores

8) Small minibus signs have witnessed the changes of the times and recorded the distinctive minibus culture in Hong Kong

 

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