Guaranteed Irish members Magico, Ireland’s foremost client first eCommerce agency, and partner platform, AB Commerce have welcomed the latest call for applications to the Online Retail Scheme 2023.
Funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and administered by Enterprise Ireland, the scheme provides direct financial support to retailers getting online for the first time, or for the development of a more competitive online business offering, taking the existing site to the next level, and in either case, complementing their in-store offering. There is €3.4 million available in this round of funding and the closing date for applications is Wednesday, May 3rd 2023.
Orla Cooney, COO of Magico commented, “This year’s funding support of up to 25K to support the activities required to be successful online is a huge boost for the sector. It's an opportunity for independent Irish Retailers to enhance their digital presence, develop their digital skills and ensure their online offering is reaching its full potential. In doing so, this funding is supporting Irish business, keeping Irish consumer revenue in Ireland and providing and sustaining jobs, not only in our big cities but also in regional towns and locations across the country”.
To date, Magico has supported over 40 retailers, in achieving a total sum of €1.5million in funding from the Online Retail Scheme, since its inception in 2020. Orla further enthused, “In the last 12 months, one of the AB Commerce retailers who used funding from a previous round of the scheme to engage with the Magico Retailer Success Growth Programme, has seen a 46% increase in Revenue, 15% increase in Orders and 27% increase in AOV.”
On Wednesday, April 19th 2023 at 11am, Magico will be hosting a Webinar for retailers interested in applying for the Online Retail Scheme. To register online, visit https://magico.com/ei-online-trading-grant/ or to discuss the online opportunity for your business contact Orla Cooney on ocooney@magico.com
Maximum grants of €25,000 will be awarded to successful applicants. Awardees from previous calls are eligible to re-apply, once they have been recipients only once previously (second time applicants), have completed the project funded, or propose a clearly different project to that undertaken under a previous approval. Retailers that have received the grant twice previously, are not eligible for this round of funding.
For retailers who have already launched their online store, the option of supercharging their eCommerce team by joining Magico’s Retailer Success Growth Programme is huge incentive for applying to the scheme for funding. Each month starts with a Digital Marketing and eCommerce Trading Review with a Monthly Activity planning session, where the practical and strategic priorities and tasks for the month ahead will be agreed upon. Training, mentoring and upskilling in areas such as email marketing, social media and site merchandising among many others, are all provided, guiding your business in maximising its sales capabilities.