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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
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+ Bridge in the News - Bridge in the News

212 Results:

December 17, 2023 The new threat: Chinese apps backed with Chinese factories
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The new threat: Chinese apps backed with Chinese factories
December 17, 2023
The Atlantic shares how Chinese factories have found a new way around U.S. retailers and into our homes: Chinese apps. SHEIN and other Chinese apps are bypassing Amazon to be a new leader in Chinese goods.  In addition to Amazon, Target, Walmart, and indie shops now have a new group of digital competitors embedded in customers’ pockets. 

Except from The Atlantic article: 

MATERIAL WORLD
IS THIS HOW AMAZON ENDS?
An open embrace of cheap foreign products has helped ...
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December 13, 2023 Big is getting small
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Big is getting small
December 13, 2023
The average retail footprint is the smallest it has been in 17 years, shares today’s The Wall Street Journal.  

Macy’s plans to open 30 mini-Macy’s, which are about 80% smaller than a normal store, by 2025. 

This trend bodes well for our indie shops: many are already in a modest retail footprints. 

Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/commercial/the-american-store-is-shrinking-7603e979
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December 7, 2023 THE BLUES OF THE GRAYS
THE BLUES OF THE GRAYS
December 7, 2023
I have a friend who recently took a job with a respected women’s clothing retailer after 13 years of retirement. My friend, Leslie, a former school teacher, wanted to be of use and knew that retail was a great opportunity for seniors. She was all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed her first week. She loved that the manager asked her to try on clothes she liked and then suggested outfits that would look good on her. Leslie even purchased a few of those suggestions, couture she never would have ...
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November 27, 2023 “Black Friday” is named after workers not showing up, shares The Wall St. Journal
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“Black Friday” is named after workers not showing up, shares The Wall St. Journal
November 27, 2023
The article also shares that Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving), which was launched in 2005, is now the biggest online-shopping day of the year.   View Post
November 20, 2023 Retailers Offer Sales to Counter Declines
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Retailers Offer Sales to Counter Declines
November 20, 2023
Major retailers are facing sales declines, shares The Wall St. Journal.  Bath & Body Works is down 2.6% and Container Store Group is down 19%.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cfos-review-holiday-promotions-as-consumer-spending-cools-65e4548b?st=zcan85g78v83z0m&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink View Post
November 15, 2023 Le Creuset Makes The Wall St. Journal Gift Guide
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Le Creuset Makes The Wall St. Journal Gift Guide
November 15, 2023
Le Creuset is one of our clients and partners.

Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/food-cooking/best-affordable-holiday-food-wine-gifts-2023-62846533?mod=mhp View Post
November 14, 2023 SCAM ALERT: Don’t Click on Facebook Ads About AI
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SCAM ALERT: Don’t Click on Facebook Ads About AI
November 14, 2023
Small businesses are getting hacked via Facebook ads, shares Today’s The Wall St. Journal.  The ads purport to offer Google’s AI engine Bard, but instead steal the business’s social media account access. 

Read the full article: https://www.wsj.com/tech/google-sues-to-block-ai-ads-preying-on-small-businesses-5e9c01d5?st=0t2f67ii9ekpuyd&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
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November 11, 2023 Holiday Season Advice: Offer Discounts Now
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Holiday Season Advice: Offer Discounts Now
November 11, 2023
The Wall St. Journal shares that holiday sales will likely be weak.   The article gives these signs:
  • Railroad traffic is light. 
  • Stockrooms are full.  
  • There are fewer holiday job openings than last year. 
  • Consumers have less cash. 

Read the full WSJ article: 
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/five-economic-signs-youre-smart-to-procrastinate-on-holiday-shopping-this-year-2de9ed0f
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November 8, 2023 TikTok Shop Is Teaming Up With U.S.-based Shippers
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TikTok Shop Is Teaming Up With U.S.-based Shippers
November 8, 2023
Tiktok’s shopping service is teaming up with ShipBob and Newegg to help it store and ship purchases made via the social platform, shares The Wall St. Journal.  

Read the WSJ article: 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/tiktok-brings-logistics-to-the-e-commerce-dance-b43d884d?st=twl1o44eyreceo0&reflink=mobilewebshare_permalink
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November 6, 2023 Why Dimensions In Product Descriptions Are Important
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Why Dimensions In Product Descriptions Are Important
November 6, 2023
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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October 26, 2023 Affiliate Marketing: TikTok, Amazon, and Your Indie Shop
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Affiliate Marketing: TikTok, Amazon, and Your Indie Shop
October 26, 2023
TikTok and Amazon are battling in the retail space. TikTok wants to be a retailer, and Amazon wants to be more of an influencer platform.  These two share the same goal: get users to share a product link, recommend the product, and get a cut of the sale, shares The Wall St. Journal.

This article and these companies speak to the power of affiliate marketing. One of Amazon’s long-standing secret growth weapons has been affiliate commissions, and influencers are a well-known ...
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October 23, 2023 Shipping Prices Decline
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Shipping Prices Decline
October 23, 2023
The Wall St. Journal shares that the volume of shipped packages will be the lowest in four years, thereby providing some pricing relief.    View Post
October 15, 2023 Sofia Coppola Praises Ginori 1735
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Sofia Coppola Praises Ginori 1735
October 15, 2023
Sofia Coppola, the director, compliments her Ginori 1735 mug in this month’s The Wall Journal WSJ magazine. 

View Ginori 1735 mugs:
https://bridge.myshoplocal.com/results.cfm/Ginori_1735?keywords=Mug View Post
October 4, 2023 Majestic Symbols
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Majestic Symbols
October 4, 2023
While this mother & baby are a North American subspecies of the brown bear, they are more commonly known as grizzly bears. As to the origin of their name, the bears can thank none other than Lewis & Clark whose journals mention a "grisley bear" no doubt referring to these majestic symbols of the wild whose grizzled appearance is caused by the long guard hairs on their backs and shoulders frequently having white tips. The fur of these bears is often dark brown but can vary from ...
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October 4, 2023 A Date With Calendars 📆
How online calendars can help retailers manage and save time.
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A Date With Calendars 📆
How online calendars can help retailers manage and save time.
October 4, 2023
One of the main problems that businesses have is efficient use of time. A retailer (or brand or sales rep) seeks on a daily basis to manage their time and optimize results. (I was reminded of this while reading a The Wall St. Journal article about time management for the family.) Businesses use a variety of tools to manage and save time, including email, texting, and Zoom. 

Shop Local helps businesses in their quest to save time. We offer businesses a variety of services to help ...
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September 25, 2023 Simplicity ⚪️
What universal standards can teach us about simplicity regarding e-commerce platforms.
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Simplicity ⚪️
What universal standards can teach us about simplicity regarding e-commerce platforms.
September 25, 2023
When Apple launched its new iPhones this month, one of its most noteworthy updates was replacing its Lightning charging cable with a USB-C. This was not a voluntary move or extension of Steve Jobs’s love of simplicity. Apple changed it because the European Union required them to, according to Ben Cohen in The Wall St. Journal. Now, just about every mobile phone in the world (forget just little ol’ Europe) will have one charging solution (USB-C).

While this may seem logical, it ...
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September 19, 2023 Standards Matter
What the retail industry can learn from Google and Amazon teaming up on technology standards.
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Standards Matter
What the retail industry can learn from Google and Amazon teaming up on technology standards.
September 19, 2023
Google, Amazon, and an array of home appliance companies are teaming up to make it easier for you to dim your home’s lights and lock your front doors. They are adopting a standard called Matter that allows devices to communicate and work together, shares The Wall St. Journal. This allows a giant like Amazon, creator of Alexa devices and Ring doorbells, and Tuo, a small home device tech creator, to use the same platform yet keep their internal, proprietary code base. This standard is like a...
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September 18, 2023 Amazon closes physical shops
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Amazon closes physical shops
September 18, 2023
The Wall Street Journal gives us an update on Amazon’s plans, ranging from stores, hardware, health care, and logistics.  The article shares that Amazon has closed all of its bookstores and 4-star stores. 

Read the full article: 
https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-fourth-pillar-3024a3c3 View Post
September 7, 2023 Love Those Margins 💖
How premium plan tiers help businesses sell more and increase margins.
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Love Those Margins 💖
How premium plan tiers help businesses sell more and increase margins.
September 7, 2023
Dating apps are launching higher-priced premium tiers, according to last week’s The Wall St. Journal. Hinge offers a new $50/month plan, and Tinder is launching a $500/month plan. The League already offers a $1,000 plan. These pricey plans take the sting out of Bumble’s $60/month plan.

Why are companies offering such plans? Because even if Tinder only gets 10% of users, that's millions. Plus, the profit and margins are likely higher for customers using these plans. A normal ...
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September 6, 2023 Meet Bilbao
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Meet Bilbao
September 6, 2023
Meet Bilbao, the newest addition to our Everyday Glassware collection! 🍷

Heartily constructed for celebrating all of life’s little moments, while standing up beautifully to the rigors of routine.

Read more about Bilbao in our latest Journal post: t.ly/e4XNl View Post

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