Ballymena Business Improvement District (BID) is celebrating record footfall and sales figures at the recent ‘biggest ever’ Discount Day in history.
The annual event saw an increase in footfall of 15.5 per cent compared to the same day last year. And the previous week enjoyed a 161 per cent growth on the same day the previous week.
Discount Day took place on Thursday 3rd November 2022 from 9am to 9pm, and saw a whopping 109 businesses take part, which was an increase from 83 in 2021. The day offered businesses an opportunity to showcase their wears to a huge number of visitors and shoppers from all over Northern Ireland.
Many businesses reported an increase in trade of over 50 per cent on last year and some even topping a 100 per cent growth on 2021.
Thomas McKillen, owner of one of the oldest and best-loved department stores, McKillens, and BID Board member said:
“As a retailer in this town for over 100 years, the annual Discount Day is much-anticipated and this year we are delighted that it was a huge success. Both our footfall and our turnover were well up on last year.
“There was a fantastic buzz in the town and the weather was kind to us.
“The strong figures were a lovely pleasant surprise as last year the town enjoyed the ‘Spend Local’ cards, which greatly improved trade – so to have an increase on this was fantastic and very encouraging."
Thomas concluded:
“The work that Emma, Clare and the Marketing group from BID did was well rewarded and we now look forward to what we hope will be a bumper Christmas.”
Discount Day, formerly known as Church Street Discount Day, has grown hugely in popularity over recent years and is now spread throughout the entire town and both the Fairhill and Tower Centre Shopping Centres are onboard and take part.
Natalie from Fairhill Shopping Centre said:
“The Discount Day gets bigger and better every year and this one did not disappoint; the centres footfall was up by 6 per cent on the same day last year and it was by far the busiest week for the shopping centres carpark too.
“On Discount Day, Fairhill had a fantastic range of retailers take part, some of whom saw up to 30 per cent increase in their sales on last year’s event with many tenants claiming that it’s been so long since they experienced a busy day like it.
“The atmosphere was electric, and the ambience had such a buzz with many a staff member not wanting to leave at the end of their shifts as they were enjoying the moment so much.
“It’s great to see such an array of shoppers hit the streets of Ballymena Town Centre with an increase in retailers taking part year on year and widening their offerings and discounts for the day.
“The success of this event is a credit to the BID Team and retailers within the Town Centre; when you hear such positive feedback in terms of numbers as well as how much everyone enjoyed the Discount Day, it reflects the hard work and effort, invested by the BID Team, that makes the event worthwhile.”
Emma McCrea, Manager of Ballymena BID, said:
“The whole BID team are delighted with the success of this year’s Discount Day and we want to thank all the retailers for embracing the concept and getting involved. We also want to thank the visitors to the town who created the buzz and supported the retailer when they need it most. It was a full town effort and one which we know will pay off for the festive weeks to come."
Lesley McCaughan BID Board member and owner of Follow Coffee added:
“This year, Discount Day was even better than previous years. We had a steady stream of trade from the moment the doors opened at 9am until the last shopper left at 9pm – this is a fantastic concept and afforded us a bumper 100 per cent increase in trade on that one day. It has created a real strong sense of community spirit amongst all businesses in the town and trade has been strong ever since. We look forward to the full calendar of BID events for the next 12 months.”
Ballymena BID has recently launched the new Ballymena Town Centre Gift Card which is providing further support for businesses. It allows local spend in all participating stores throughout the town and is already showing strong sales for the festive period. It allows money to be kept within Ballymena and is available for purchase from kiosks in the shopping centre or online at