A recent study conducted by Jungle Scout reports that many consumers prefer to support small and local businesses for their holiday shopping. 20% reported they will buy holiday gifts from indie stores, up from 10% last year. The report ranks independent retailers in 4th place for in-store shopping, surpassing Costco, Walgreen's Best Buy, Sam's Club, Macy's and Home Depot.
The article shares 53% of consumers bought online from independent stores on Small Business Saturday as reported by ...
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How to navigate around your site quickly using breadcrumbs in order to save time.
December 8, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've added breadcrumb navigation to a brand's Home (Collections) page and a product's Details page. The trail of links (or "breadcrumbs") at the top of these pages shows the site's structure and identifies the hierarchy.
Benefits of Breadcrumbs:
Helps shoppers identify their current location on your website.
Helps shoppers find what they're looking for more easily.
Encourages shoppers to navigate from the current page to different
You can determine the quality of a shopping platform by looking at reviews from customers who have used it. Below are excerpts from three reviews from shoppers who bought a gift using our software:
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"I wanted to take care of this online and the website was easy to navigate…always a plus!"
~ Jerri Ann Fitts in TX
Ms. Fitts made a purchase at The Ivy House, an indie retailer in Texas that has used our e-commerce software since 2015.
Today’s The Wall St. Journal shares a funny story about the importance of displaying product dimensions in e-commerce.
This article shows the value of a brand. If the teakettle in the article shown had a Le Creuset logo, we’d know it was regular size. Tip: Look for trusted brands when shopping online.
The article doesn’t touch on this, but this dimensions problem also relates to POS systems. There is a trend among retailers to output their ...
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How restaurants, hotels, and tableware brands are using loyalty programs--and what indie stores can learn from this.
October 11, 2023
Perk-y
I recently read about a new loyalty program and wondered what we could learn from it. The founder of Eater and Resy, Ben Leventhal, has started Blackbird, a loyalty program service designed for indie restaurants, reports The New York Times (Read the article). Using the Blackbird app, a diner receives a perk for eating at a restaurant. The retailer sets tiers for which the user qualifies for the perk. For example, a restaurant, Nat’s on Bank in New York City, gives tier 1 customers ...
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You can determine the quality of a shopping platform by looking at reviews from customers who have used it. Below are excerpts from three reviews from shoppers who bought a gift using our software:
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"Thanks for making shopping fast, simple and convenient!!! Your website is easy and very manageable!"
~ Sue Maners in MO
Ms. Maners made a purchase at Babcock Gifts, an indie retailer in Tennessee that has used our e-commerce software since 2016.
The American Kestrel may be North America's smallest raptor but by no means does that diminish its abilities as a hunter as evidenced by those impressive talons. What it lacks in size the kestrel makes up in coloration since it is considered the most colorful of raptors. Often found perched on a wire or a pole, the kestrel will pump its long tail to keep its balance while scanning for an unfortunate grasshopper. The sculptors and painters at Herend had no desire to embellish such a dignified ...
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Babcock Gifts celebrates its 50th birthday in 2024. The bridal registry and gift shop opened in 1972 as a partnership that included interior design. In 1974, with the exit of one partner, the store focused on antiques, gifts, and bridal registry. Over the next 42 years, there would be growth into two stores before downsizing to one. In 2016, ownership changed and the store moved one block down, where it continues to be a destination for bridal registry and gift-giving. With the constant doom and...
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Brands may consider using Shopify for their online operations. It’s important to note that brands can’t do many things with Shopify. A key Shopify problem for a brand is that the brand has to have separate “stores” for retail and wholesale customers. The reason is that Shopify doesn’t know what to charge the customer because it doesn’t know if it’s a general public shopper (that pays retail) or a retailer (that pays the wholesale price). &...
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NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 06, 2023 – Shop Local, an e-commerce platform, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 64% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing.
Study Findings:
For 32 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 64% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has
A shopper, Joshua Looby, shared this reply to the email he received after placing an order on our Shop Local platform:
"Thank you, Jason, I love small business it's the backbone of the country and the world really. It's nice to see this level of care and customer service that most large-scale companies have forgotten about."
Joshua made a purchase at Thalia and Dahlia, an indie retailer in Ohio. After placing his order, Joshua received an email from Jason Solarek, Shop Local...
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You can determine the quality of a shopping platform by looking at reviews from customers that used it. Below are excerpts from three reviews from shoppers that bought a gift using our software:
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"Easy to view and choose from the registry..."
~ Blake Gustafson in OH
Mr. Gustafson made a purchase at White Peacock, an indie retailer that has used our e-commerce software since 2019.
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"Wedding registry was quick, convenient...
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A shopper, Cindy, shared this reply to the email she received after placing an order on our Shop Local platform:
"LOVE supporting local businesses! Thank you for your nice email -- what a lovely touch! Best, Cindy"
Cindy made a purchase at White Peacock, an indie retailer in Colorado. After placing her order, Cindy received an email from Jason Solarek, Shop Local's Founder & CEO, thanking her for supporting local and placing an order with an indie retailer.
Visit Glassworks and Cheeks and Feathers during the Annual Shadyside Sidewalk Sale, which takes place Wednesday, July 26th - Sunday, July 30th from 10 am to 5 pm each day. Head down to Walnut Street and it's side streets next week to find bargains. Shop your favorite stores and boutiques to find products at incredible discounts. Most local retail businesses will participate, offering up to 80% off regular retail! Glassworks and Cheeks and Feathers will offer the best deals of the year! Savvy ...
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A shopper, Laura Armistead, shared this review regarding her experience on our Shop Local platform:
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“My online shopping experience at Elizabeth Clair’s was wonderful! The site was easy to navigate, and it took no time at all! As always, the customer service was excellent and pleasant! Thank you so much!”
Ms. Armistead made a purchase at Elizabeth Clair's, an indie retailer that has used our e-commerce software since 2018 and has two locations in ...
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How a company's sales and growth can be affected by the message it conveys to customers.
July 18, 2023
Allbirds stock is down 95% since its November 2021 initial public offering. People may say the company launched the wrong products (did you buy one of their puffer jackets?) or tried to grow too quickly. I believe there is a larger reason: you can’t scale a company by leading with an environmental message—which is Allbirds’s pitch. Consumers rank saving the planet as one of their least pressing concerns when making a purchase. The leading factors consumers look for when ...
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How pre-populating information saves clients time and speeds them along a process.
June 30, 2023
Each April, I scramble to send my tax information to my accountant so I can file my taxes before April 15. Since my friends confide that they do the same, there are likely millions of people like us racing to prepare our taxes. What if there was a way to avoid this painful rush—and even the cost of it? The WSJ shares that Japan, New Zealand, and much of Europe get such relief. The countries prepare tax returns for their citizens using existing data, and the citizen just needs to review it,...
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How businesses keep customers coming back after they make a purchase.
June 8, 2023
Six Flags is updating its theme parks to encourage families to spend more time there and visit more often, according to this past weekend’s The Wall St. Journal. The theme park's president, Jeffrey Siebert, says that the nightly fireworks show is what the industry calls a “kiss good night.” After park-goers have spent the day spending, they perceive the show as a free, post-purchase gift with no strings attached. The fireworks thereby help the customer leave fulfilled and...
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