How to view popular gifts to add them to a registry.
October 4, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've made it easier for gift registrants to view and add gifts to their wedding registry. There is now a new "Add Gifts" page that showcases popular gifts that a registrant may wish to add to their registry.
The Add Gifts page is tailored to the registry type. For example, the Add Gifts page for a wedding registry displays the following content:
Marion Samuel, who manages Babcock Gifts, a Tennessee-based gift shop, pens Tableware Today’s Last Word column in this month’s issue. She shares how they have grown over the last 50 years and run their store.
I was pleased to see her tout the store’s Bridge software. Babcock Gifts, which has been a client for 10 years, uses Bridge’s Shop Local gift registry service and Brand Syncing service. Using our service, they showcase 400+ couples’ gift registries online ...
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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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We recently conducted a study to review Google search results for wedding registry purchasing. In the results for 32 states in which we have clients, Shop Local stores ranked on page 1 of Google ahead of national chains and other registry services, which often have larger customer bases and bigger website budgets.
When conducting the search for "wedding registry [state name]", many Shop Local stores beat MyRegistry.com and Shopify apps, like Gift Reggie.
H Mercantile, an indie store in Louisiana, signed up last week for a free account.
The store owner heard about the service from their Ivystone sales rep and signed up online.
In just a few minutes, the store used the Brand Syncing Service to Sync with Casafina. It instantly had data for 955 products to create an online store and gift registry filled for free.
The owner saved $1,000+ in labor on adding products to a website.
How to view key performance statistics to determine how Shop Local is helping your business.
September 11, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've added a new Performance Statistics page to your account. This page makes it easier to access your account's stats.
Previously, this page was titled "How Shop Local is Helping My Business?" Now, the page is titled "My Account's Performance Statistics."
For Retailers, the stats displayed on the Performance Statistics page include:
How competitive techniques can help lure clients and grow a network.
September 10, 2023
Andrew Chen shares in 'The Cold Start Problem' that many times, networks are competing in a zero-sum game. One network gets a customer to join their network and thereby not participate in another. For example, when a driver used Lyft instead of Uber, Uber, which Chen helped, lost. And it lost in two regards: Uber lost the revenue from the lost ride, and Lyft gained the revenue. Chen’s team was tasked with getting drivers to use all their time driving for Uber and thereby unraveling Lyft&...
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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
How limited resources can motivate teams to accomplish goals and breed solutions.
September 3, 2023
India last month joined three other countries in the exclusive club that has put a craft on the moon. What’s unique about India’s accomplishment is that it did this at a fraction of what the U.S. spends on space exploration, shares Ben Cohen in The Wall St. Journal. While the U.S.’s NASA program has a $24b budget, India’s ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) budget is just $1.3b. India, which started its space program in 1963, is able to do more with less because of ...
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How to view information about a registry on one page.
August 31, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've made it easier for you and your registrants to view an overview of a registry. There is now a new Registry Overview page that displays information about a registry at a glance.
Previously, you or your registrant would need to visit different registry-related pages to view many of these links. This feature reduces the number of clicks needed to access pages.
The Registry Overview page displays the following information...
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Your registry service has built in email campaigns for each gift registry list. These campaigns promote your store in an automated and affordable manner. The campaigns often cost under $.0.42 per recipient—about half of what other email marketing campaigns cost.
Details
Your software sends out an anniversary reminder email to a customer that gave a gift for that registry.
Cost Per Email Sent
Let’s assume that a registry received 100 purchases. ...
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We follow the gift registry industry and Buybuy Baby has been a formidable player in this space. The WSJ reports that Buybuy Baby is being sold for $15m and the stores closed.
Bed Bath & Beyond was recently sold to Overstock.com for $21m.
Next week is the Dallas trade show and next month is the Atlanta show. As you may know, I was a sales rep for 5 years. I owned a retail store, Magnon Jewelers, which was founded in 1890, for 37 years. Due to this, I know that preparing for the trade shows is a daunting task. Was I ever truly ready? :)
Let's help you and your stores make the most of the upcoming trade shows.
During the trade shows, Shop Local will pay you to help your stores. Plus, we'll...
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In this new webinar for sales reps, I share why your retailers are struggling online and underselling your lines. I share how you can help them and boost your commissions by 18%.
How registrants can invite friends to open a registry at your store via text.
May 24, 2023
Your Shop Local Store has a new feature: Registrants can now invite friends to open a registry at your store. The new "Help a Friend" feature on registry lists allows registrants to send a text message to their friends with an invitation to open a registry.
In the example shown, we see a registry list at Luxury Gift Shop. In the "Help a Friend" box, the registrant can click the "See Details & Invite Friend" link to refer their friend to your registry service....
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What Crocs can teach us about gaining new customers and keeping them happy.
May 15, 2023
About 15 years ago, I bought a pair of Crocs sandals in Myrtle Beach, SC. Not only were they hot pink, but the insole was traffic cone orange. My buddies hated them, but oddly others loved them. The sandals were affordable (maybe $20), comfortable, and a conversation starter.
According to last week’s The New York Times' profile on Crocs, I’m one of tens of millions of happy Crocs owners. This happiness is profitable: