Amazon and Chinese companies have teamed up to bypass Main Street and ship goods directly to doorsteps. This is hurting American manufacturing as well as local city governments. To accomplish this, they're misleading Americans by putting out press releases that cherry-pick statistics.
Follow these 3 steps to see the issue at hand:
1. In an Amazon press release last week, Amazon claimed:
"Independent third-party sellers – primarily small and medium-sized businesses – ...
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What company in the tabletop industry has invested in a tech company? I don't know of one. I believe our industry should be doing what UPS does and investing in tech--and I'll explain why.
As today's WSJ shares, UPS has a venture capital arm and it has this because smart businesses know that most businesses are becoming more like: software businesses. Therefore, businesses have to ‘buy’ that know-how by investing in a tech company. UPS knows that it doesn't have the internal tech know-how to...
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August 15, 2019
August 15, 2019
The Best Cast-Iron Pans To Make Your Food Way Healthier Liz Moody By Liz Moody Contributing Food Editor
Image by mbg creative / iStock Our editors have independently chosen the products listed on this page. If you purchase something mentioned in this article, we may earn a small commission. August 15, 2019 — 9:08 AM Share on: Cast-iron pans might be one of the top kitchen tools that chefs and health professionals agree upon. The heavy weight allows for durable, even cooking (many lighter pans have "...
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August 8, 2019
August 8, 2019
I read the New York Times and want to ask: Are we sharpening our executioner's sword? That is what FedEx wondered as it helped Amazon grow by delivering its packages. Finally, FedEx woke up and decided it's better to make less money tomorrow than help usher in its death in the near future. As the Times reports, FedEx is terminating its ground delivery agreement with Amazon at the end of August, thereby passing on the delivery of millions of packages.
Amazon has historically partnered with ...
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July 15, 2019
July 15, 2019
Is offering a big sale in July a good idea? With the competition offering this, I don’t know that a store can afford not to. Today’s Times ponders this (theoretical?) question, which can be read here:
Here’s a new idea: a wedding website after the event can become a ‘thank you’ site and share what happened. This idea and more can be gleamed from this weekend’s Times article about building a wedding website.
The Times suggests a couple could self-host a website and have a website designer custom build it, but I’d highly discourage that as it’s very time consuming and expensive. Aren’t weddings already enough of this? :) Using a wedding site platform that is hosted by the provider is the way to ...
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July 2, 2019
July 2, 2019
Good news: your indie store just gained some ground on Amazon.
About 60% of Amazon sales are via third-party sellers. They pass thru what it calls the 'marketplace.' These Amazon purchases have not historically been taxed because the purchase is made from a business in one state and shipped to another state. But that loophole started to close last year when the Supreme Court ruled that states can collect tax on these types of Internet purchases.
Many state laws have acted on that Supreme ...
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June 28, 2019
June 28, 2019
Amazon may falsey report low stock and raise prices after you add an item to your shopping, shares David Streitfeld in today’s Times.
"Customer service, willingness to evolve, introduction of new business technologies, community involvement and customer loyalty are factors that determined the list of 55 award recipients nationwide..." Last month, our 67-year-old shop was selected as a 2019 Retail Star by Home Accents Today. A special thanks to our customers and local community for helping us achieve such an award (for the fourth time!)
Today’s Times covers deceptive practices on the web. That shopper “Alexandra” that just bought that dress? She doesn’t exist.
Bridge members may recall that in Bridge 1.0 we output featured purchases. Every single featured purchase was real. Bridge embraces honest, factual marketing strategies.
“If the shoe fits, wear it,” goes the old saying, and today’s Times shares the state of indie shoes which may sound familiar to indie gift shop owners. This story seems to be ‘a fit’ for our industry, too.
I recently visited a Footlocker and noticed they had moved the Nike shoes to the back of the store. Why? Nike, with all of its stores and direct to consumer website promotion, is now a competitor and Footlocker is trying to reduce its reliance on Nike. To that affect, I went to the Nike ...
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June 23, 2019
June 23, 2019
Pictures and social media can be a dangerous combo: they breed competition, jealousy, and insecurity. ‘Likes,’ view counts, and comments by peers and strangers propel a bizarre world of masked perfection and underlying anxiety. This isn’t unique to honeymoon posts—it’s happening to teens, single adults, and even business owners that share via social media.
Dallas Show Special! Receive 15% Freight Cap! On Orders Over $750 During Wed, Jun 19 - Tue, Jun 25, 2019
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June 18, 2019
June 18, 2019
What an honor to be named a 2019 Home Accents Today Retail Star. We are thankful for our customers and the entire Bowling Green community for their continued support for small, local businesses.
Old retail is 80% analog. This consists of: the physical store, staff, customer service training, etc. What you’d expect walking into a Saks or Macy's. And it's about 20% tech: computers, cash registers (POS systems), mobile shopping, Google ranking, apps, hiring social influencers, Instagram, etc.
Today, the retailers that are well positioned, growing, and 'hot' carry the opposite equation: they're 20% analog and 80% tech.
Companies are scrambling to speed up delivery to compete with Amazon even if this means smaller margins. They would rather make less than let Amazon get the sale.
Come visit us in BUILDING 2 FLOOR 9 # 940 From July 9-15th, Our Designers have outdone themselves yet again. OUR FAMOUS ARTHUR COURT COLLECTABLE ORNAMENT FOR 2019 WILL BE HOPPING IN FOR PRE SALES.
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June 5, 2019
June 5, 2019
Southerners Share Their Secrets For a Lasting Marriage.
There’s a massive retail and in particular shipping war going right before our eyes: Walmart and Amazon are trying to out deliver each other. Why? Quick delivery + Massive selection = Retail Success in 2019 and beyond
I believe the future of retail is about big selection and quick shipping / pick up. The ‘interface’ to manage these features will be a shopper’s mobile phone. To support this belief, I designed our new software to meet this trend. You’ll notice in our new 2.0 Bridge software that ...
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