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  1. News from Us
  2. News from Members
  3. Events
  4. Press
  5. Dollars & Sense
  6. Profile Stories
  7. Updates
  8. Training Calendar
  9. Training Videos
  10. Jobs
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July 23, 2024 Our Retail Predictions Featured in Tableware Today Magazine
Why only 30% of wedding gift givers will come into a store in 2030--and how we can help prepare for that
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Our Retail Predictions Featured in Tableware Today Magazine
Why only 30% of wedding gift givers will come into a store in 2030--and how we can help prepare for that
July 23, 2024
Tableware Today’s Editor Amy Stavis invited me to pen the Last Word column for the August / September issue. I start by comparing e-commerce trends for selling automobiles to selling dinner plates. Online sales in both industries have swelled in the last 25 years. (I entered the e-commerce business at the right time—in 2001.)

I predict that 70% of wedding registry gift givers will never set foot in a physical store by 2030. Currently, that number is at about 50%. If we do in fact ...
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July 10, 2024 M3A Feature in Women's Wear Daily
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M3A Feature in Women's Wear Daily
July 10, 2024
Have a look at our feature in the Women's Wear Daily article today! View Post
June 15, 2024 Account Manager/Sales Manager
Account Manager/Sales Manager
June 15, 2024
Good news: Shop Local is hiring. We're looking for:
  • Sales Managers.
  • Account Managers.
If you know someone who may be interested, please contact us.
 
We are experiencing notable growth: 1,400+ retailers now use our platform. We're driving double-digit revenue growth for our merchants.
 
Qualifications
We are looking for motivated people that:
  • Wish to see indie stores, brands, and reps succeed.
  • Support the shop local movement.
  • Are comfortable with computers,
...
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June 11, 2024 ‘The Amazon Effect’ is Affecting Your Business
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‘The Amazon Effect’ is Affecting Your Business
June 11, 2024
Good article by Bill McCoughlin, the Editor in Chief of Furniture Today:

https://www.furnituretoday.com/opinion/furniture-everyday/rethinking-the-amazon-effect-and-other-consumer-expectations-bill-mcloughlin/ View Post
June 8, 2024 Subscription Bundles
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Subscription Bundles
June 8, 2024
Recently, when booking a trip to Florida to see family, I was shown an array of bundles by American Airlines. There was the basic flight, and then:
  • Main Cabin Plus. Included a free checked bag, a more spacious seat, and boarding earlier. 
  • Main Cabin Select. Included an even earlier boarding time and made it easier to change my flight. 
  • First Class. Included the largest, most comfortable seat, priority boarding, two checked bags, and better drinks and food. 

The Wall ...
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May 29, 2024 THE POWER OF BRAND BUILDING by KAREN OLSON
THE POWER OF BRAND BUILDING by KAREN OLSON
May 29, 2024
Brand strategy is one of the most powerful initiatives an organization can undergo. It’s an opportunity to evolve a company’s mission and value proposition based on current and future customer needs with the result being a purpose-led, customer-centric road map to create enhanced value for customers. ANDMORE recently completed this process as we rebranded from International Market Centers (IMC) last year. ANDMORE is more than just a new name and logo, it’s a framework for how ...
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May 29, 2024 A Bicentennial Bounty
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A Bicentennial Bounty
May 29, 2024
A BICENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY REPRESENTS REMARKABLE LONGEVITY AND VISTA ALEGRE IS TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE of it with dozens of new pieces created specifically to commemorate the 200 anos occasion. “It’s a very important milestone and a time of reflection to see how far we’ve come and where we want to go,” says Daniel Silva, who helped bring the brand new luster here since he started the American subsidiary in 2012. Nuno Barra, Vista Alegre product development director and board ...
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May 29, 2024 THE SWIFT GENERATION
THE SWIFT GENERATION
May 29, 2024
I’m going to presume you know Taylor Swift, the pop superstar with widespread public appeal and a vast fan base, who has influenced not only the music industry, but popular culture, politics, and economics. Her recent $5 billion Eras tour had a fiscal impact greater than 50 countries. The Taylor Swift economy has reached every town in America, measured in national retail sales figures, global inflation, and municipal economic bumps where concerts were held. The Swift microeconomy reaches ...
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May 23, 2024 TikTok Tick-Tock ⏳: Time Is Running Out on Traditional Retail
How social media influencers with the help of Amazon are bypassing brick-and-mortar retail shops
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TikTok Tick-Tock ⏳: Time Is Running Out on Traditional Retail
How social media influencers with the help of Amazon are bypassing brick-and-mortar retail shops
May 23, 2024
Kiara Springs, a 25-year old, is part of a new retail trend, shares The New York Times.  She sells about $10k/month online but doesn’t own a brick-and-mortar retail store, pay a landlord rent, go to the wholesale markets, or have a POS system. Her “sidewalk” to get traffic is TikTok, and her “POS” is Amazon.  Her “stockroom” is the brand’s warehouse. She has an Amazon affiliate account and goods are drop shipped.   

...
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May 18, 2024 Health is Wealth: Healthy Websites 🍎
Do website service providers need a digital health label?
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Health is Wealth: Healthy Websites 🍎
Do website service providers need a digital health label?
May 18, 2024
When you pick up a package of Oreos or yogurt at the grocery store, you can see the nutrition (or lack of it!) on the nutrition label on the back. Health advocates are encouraging the FDA to make warnings more obvious on packages—such as by placing information on the front of the package, shares The Wall St. Journal. Advocates have looked abroad for inspiration. In Mexico, you’ll find labels with a black octagon, resembling a stop sign, on the front of Doritos and Nature Valley ...
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May 9, 2024 Big-Box Stores Embrace Online Shopping, Begrudgingly
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Big-Box Stores Embrace Online Shopping, Begrudgingly
May 9, 2024
Big-box stores are adapting to e-commerce, shares The Wall St. Journal.  

Article figures:
  • In 2014, e-commerce was 6% of retail sales.  In 2023, it was 15%. 
  • Target fulfills almost 100% of online orders in-store and Walmart half of online orders in-store. 

Customers prefer physical stores alongside e-commence because:
  • They save money on fees, such as shipping. 
  • They can get the item faster. (Delivery may take a few days.) 
  • When doing returns,
...
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May 7, 2024 Check Your Plates 🚗
How online trends in the used car market parallel those in the wedding registry market. Online gift giving predicted to increase at the expense of in-store giving by 40% by 2030.
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Check Your Plates 🚗
How online trends in the used car market parallel those in the wedding registry market. Online gift giving predicted to increase at the expense of in-store giving by 40% by 2030.
May 7, 2024
Jinjoo Lee in The Wall St. Journal shares how the used car market has improved in the last 20 years because much of it is now conducted online.  When car buyers use the web, they are more likely to save money (saving about 2%), and dealers can, in theory, make more with dynamic pricing (about 2%)—thereby giving each party a win. Unlike 20 years ago, when we didn't have smartphones, today 95% of used car purchases start online. While 31% of used car purchases were completely in-person,...
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April 26, 2024 Registry & Checkout Review: MyRegistry
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Registry & Checkout Review: MyRegistry
April 26, 2024
At Shop Local, it's our job to help find ways to grow your online business. Part of that job is researching different registry software to see if it could be a good fit for your store.

If you offer a gift registry service, you may have heard of MyRegistry. MyRegistry is a third-party universal registry service that seemingly integrates with your primary website, stating that they "offer a suite of technology solutions [for retailers] that boost revenue, engage customers, and reduce ...
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April 26, 2024 LAFCO Is Ready to Sync
LAFCO's 176 products are now ready to Sync.  LAFCO is a luxury candle and home fragrance brand that offers candles, diffusers and body care.
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LAFCO Is Ready to Sync
LAFCO's 176 products are now ready to Sync.  LAFCO is a luxury candle and home fragrance brand that offers candles, diffusers and body care.
April 26, 2024
We are pleased to share that LAFCO products are ready for Syncing.

LAFCO joins our network of 111 premium brands that Sync products with over 1,450 retailers.

Example
Breed & Co., a gift and tableware shop in Austin, TX, is Syncing with LAFCO.

View Breed & Co.'s LAFCO page:
https://breed.myshoplocal.com/collections.cfm/Lafco

Breed & Co. benefitted from Syncing:  
  • Breed & Co. is showing 176 LAFCO products online and didn't pay any labor to add
...
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April 24, 2024 Nike tried to cut out retailers and it backfired
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Nike tried to cut out retailers and it backfired
April 24, 2024
Since we support brick-and-mortar retailers, we found Nike’s u-turn regarding retailers to be welcome. They initially planned to cut off 30% of stores but have since returned to them.  

Read The Wall St. Journal article:
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/nike-reverse-innovation-stalls-rivals-gain-c3ed8e63?st=69ycm3x5p027g6w&reflink=share_mobilewebshare
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April 15, 2024 Exponentially Better: The Math Behind Our Shopping Platform 🔢
How a drawing on a bar napkin led to a software platform that processes trillions of calculations
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Exponentially Better: The Math Behind Our Shopping Platform 🔢
How a drawing on a bar napkin led to a software platform that processes trillions of calculations
April 15, 2024
In 2007, while sitting at the pub Moran’s with a beer, I drew a sketch on a napkin that would change our business. I drew a software model that would allow an indie store to instantly show (and sell) thousands of products online—without any labor. (The secret sauce: The respective brand would do the product update work for the merchants.) The immediate goal was to help my two retailers more efficiently load products onto their websites (and save me the boredom of doing it). 

...
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April 13, 2024 Amazon may be stealing your ideas
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Amazon may be stealing your ideas
April 13, 2024
The Wall St. Journal shares how Amazon takes other companies’ ideas on a mass scale, such as from Trader Joe’s. The article is an excerpt from “The Everything War: Amazon’s Ruthless Quest to Own the World and Remake Corporate Power,” a new book by Dana Mattioli. 

Read the full article:  
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-the-everything-war-dana-mattioli-4966915d?st=wfvfetf3zjiygz4&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
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April 13, 2024 Taco Bell-wether 🌮
How Taco Ball is going digital first--and others would be wise to follow
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Taco Bell-wether 🌮
How Taco Ball is going digital first--and others would be wise to follow
April 13, 2024
Fast food is stuffing itself with software. Yum Brands, which owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, is embracing a few strategies we’ve chatted about, including software bundles and membership programs. It’s even investing in AI. Its budget: $21m last year. That’s a lot of lettuce. 

Does the market merit it? Well, 45% of Yum’s sales are digital. Likewise, we’re hearing website sales make up about half of our merchants' sales. Note: We’re not half of every ...
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April 8, 2024 Macy’s could go the way of Sears
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Macy’s could go the way of Sears
April 8, 2024
Sixty percent of Macy’s value lies not in its stores, brands, or IP, but in the dirt below it: its real estate.  That’s not a good bellwether for its existence as is. 

Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/the-hot-sale-going-on-at-department-stores-their-shares-bf5c01ca?st=6x9w0ljn163uv88&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
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April 8, 2024 How will these 35 e-commerce trends affect your business?
Forbes Advisor shares 35 insights you should know
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How will these 35 e-commerce trends affect your business?
Forbes Advisor shares 35 insights you should know
April 8, 2024
We watch trends to share them with our members and help them capture orders.  Forbes shares 35 helpful e-commerce statistics and we picked out a few highlights for you below:

Key Statistics:
  • 20.1% of retail purchases are expected to take place online in 2024.
  • By 2027, 23% of retail purchases are expected to take place online.
  • E-commerce sales are expected to grow 8.8% in 2024.
  • 52% of online shoppers report shopping internationally.
  • The most common reason online shoppers
...
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Next page

Press: Shop Local & Bridge in the News
Tableware Today Column: Saying I Do To Registries
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October 2024

Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
Tableware Today: New Leaderboard Column from Shop Local
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Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Florida Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Florida Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Tennessee Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Tennessee Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Louisiana Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Louisiana Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Delaware Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Delaware Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
April 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Pennsylvania Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants in Pennsylvania Get Google Sales Leads 🔍
March 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get Sales Leads in Mississippi
March 2024

Shop Local Merchants Are 60% of Google Page 1 Results in South Carolina
Shop Local Merchants Are 60% of Google Page 1 Results in South Carolina
March 2024

Shop Local Merchants Are 50% of Google Page 1 Results in Georgia
Shop Local Merchants Are 50% of Google Page 1 Results in Georgia
March 2024

Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get More Sales Leads than Big-Box Stores Using Google
Shop Local Helps Indie Merchants Get More Sales Leads than Big-Box Stores Using Google
February 2024

Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States
Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States
February 2024

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