Noma, the world-famous Copenhagen restaurant, is closing to concentrate on e-commerce. Excerpt from the Times:
“Noma will become a full-time food laboratory, developing new dishes and products for its e-commerce operation, Noma Projects, and the dining rooms will be open only for periodic pop-ups.”
This change supports the breath and power of e-commerce, and portends coming changes for our retail industry. It’s not that one can’t eke out a ...
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At the Dallas trade show this week, I’ll be sporting our new Shop Local t-shirt. In flight to the show, I’ll be reading how network effects help businesses, including retail shops. Indie shops and network effects go hand in hand. Retailers can effectively grow via network programs, including Bridge’s Product Syncing service and referral and affiliate programs. To learn how networks can help your business, I recommend picking up a copy of The Cold ...
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In the book The Cold Start Problem, Andrew Chen says that the 'network effect’ is really three effects:
The acquisition effect
The engagement effect
The monetization effect
In the beginning, a business seeking to build a network has to concentrate on acquiring users, even if they are non-paying. Companies often give away the service, especially software companies, and we can see that with Facebook, Slack, TikTok, and many others. Bridge didn’t do ...
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We are pleased to announce the Nicolette Mayer Collection is ready to sync products via Bridge's Product Syncing service.
Produced by dedicated artisans in America, the Nicolette Mayer Collection offers over 1500 Art de la Table items. Nicolette Mayer is a lifestyle brand whose product categories include:
Placemats,
Coasters,
Acrylic trays,
Dinner and Cocktail Napkins,
Murals,
Candles,
Candy Dishes,
Pillows.
Placemats are available in both round and rectangular ...
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More than 65% of brands surveyed by Bridge offer free shipping, while just 14% of indie stores do. Brands often charge just $118 to quality for free shipping, while stores charge $190 (a $72 difference). Where would you shop?
Bridge analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Bridge did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading ...
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While buying a beer this past weekend in Philadelphia, I spotted this cool beer can with a ‘Back to the Future’ themed design. I was happy to see on the can, which is brewed by Three 3’s Brewery, a “Drink Local” campaign. Supporting local businesses, whether they are breweries or gift shops, is a mission dear to us.
With our retail members in the throes of the holiday season, it was nice to read an article by Retail Dive providing some insight into Q4 2022. Retail Dive, a retail industry publication, informs readers that big-box stores share much of the same friction as our indie retailers do. I appreciated the acknowledgement that independent stores may feel disruptions quicker and may even have an edge on providing a more superior customer experience to gaining loyalty. The good news is that there are ...
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Seasons greetings from the PNW everyone! I was out shopping today and came across a sign in the wild promoting Shop Local, a concept near and dear to us and something we have believed in from the inception of the company..helping support local businesses in a way that's beneficial to all. So much so that we began transitioning Bridge to ShopLocal earlier this year.
This particular sign was in a mall similar to one that you may have near you. Having been decimated by big name brands pulling up...
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When we brainstorm about making Bridge better, we want to turn over every stone. We explore many avenues, from increasing collaboration to lowering product prices to enhancing marketing. What if an improvement was right in front of us—constant to all of these concepts? Regardless of what feature we offer, there is one constant: navigation. Navigation is fundamental to allowing members to easily find what they need—and discover what they didn’t know they needed.
Set a magical table with Estrela!! Dash in to your favorite #shoplocal store… Shop Small Y’all! π₯ Let’s celebrate this special time of year by supporting our locally owned small business owners! They are passionately dedicated to helping you elevate everyday occasions and celebrations of your life.
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#skyrosdesigns #estrela #estrelanatal #merrychristmas #holidaytable #christmastable #shoplocalforchristmas #skyros #skyrosbride
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While drinking Athletic, a non-alcoholic (fake!) beer, I noticed that its box proclaims that it gives back 2% to local trails. I love walking trails, and I thought: the next time I venture to have a sober night, I’ll pick up another box of Athletic. (Thanks, Athletic, for giving out $2.5m in trail grants.) Warby Parker gives a pair of eyeglasses for each pair bought (they've given 10m pairs!), while Bombas does this for socks. Bookshop.org gives a percent back to small ...
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Great news: I have created another special training video for retailers for the holiday season. In this video, I share three easy steps to help you promote free shipping to help increase your holiday sales.
My training covers:
Add free shipping to your account settings.
Add a banner promoting free shipping, sales and/or events.
Add a slide promoting free shipping, sales and/or events.
Offering free shipping will help you increase your sales opportunities because customers will look...
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When we talk about prices, there are two prices that are important:
The price that we charge clients.
The price our clients charge their customers.
We normally talk about the former, aka how our prices compare with other competitors, like Shopify or wholesale services like Faire.
Of increasing importance to us is what our retailers charge their customers. Walmart recently announced that it was taking brands to account and pressuring them to keep ...
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We're happy to see three brands promote Bridge in Tableware Today's December/January 2023 issue.
The brands promoting Bridge include:
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Carmel Ceramica
Pampa Bay
In the advertisement, the brand displays either Bridge’s ‘B’ or Bridge's ShopLocal.org logo.
A brand shows the logo so that retailers know they can easily sell the products shown. When a brand subscribes to Bridge’s Product Syncing service, a retailer can instantly ...
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Great news: I have created a special training video for retailers for the holiday season. In this video, I share five easy steps to help you improve your home page--and holiday sales.
We'll all be spending a lot of time in the kitchen over the holidays. Do you need a refresh of your kitchen tools and accessories assortment?
it's not too late to have Rösle in your store (kitchen!) this holiday season. Rösle products are in stock and shipping within 48 hours of placing an order.
Bridge members have seen great success with the kitchen line Rösle, which offers reliable, high-quality tools made in Germany.