How are brands helping their stores--and themselves? They are telling retailers that Bridge is a sales solution for them. For example, Pampa Bay doubled its sales vs. last year on the Bridge platform. One way Pampa Bay increased its sales is by consistently promoting its Bridge service across various mediums. When one visits the Pampa Bay site, one can see the platforms the brand uses in the upper right-hand corner. We can see the brand uses Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bridge. Pampa...
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Yesterday I spoke with an independent jewelry store that was targeted by cybercriminals. The criminals created a ransomware attack and held the store’s computer data hostage. The store had to scramble to find backup data and reopen. The store called the FBI and didn’t pay. The hackers then sent phishing emails to all the store’s customers—attacking the store’s customers and trying to infect them.
Scott Galloway, a business leader and NYU professor, shares that we're now spending over 4 hours a day on our mobile phones--up from just 20 minutes in 2010. (…I wrote part of this post on my iPhone.) What does this mean? Lots of opportunities for Amazon--as well as Facebook, Instagram, and other tech titans--to sell to us. Our cell phones are, in essence, 1,000 'buy buttons' in our pockets (or on our nightstands) that encourage us to buy stuff online, any time of the day.
Dale Hrabi of the Wall St. Journal gives readers 10 steps they can take to boost their online followers. We recommend trying these suggestions on Bridge, Instagram, and your other social media platforms. In particular, I liked these suggestions:
1. Post every day.
2. When posting, end the post with a question.
3. Respond to every review and comment.
4. Post selfies.
What is one of your business' most popular posts on social media? And, why do think it resonated so much?
...
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year over at the Oprah Daily!! We are delighted to be chosen as an Oprah’s Favorite Things must-give gift this year! #OprahsFavoriteThings ππ
Pick up the latest @oprahdaily O Quarterly on Nov 9th!
Ring in the holiday season… Oprah has selected our Cantaria Breakfast Cup in Caramel, Greige, Sand and White as must-give gift for her Favorite Things List 2021!
It’s that time of year when we gather for Fall Entertaining. We would love your Customers incredible photos and videos celebrating the season by showing off your friends and family getting together to share appetizers, gathering for drinks or a meal, or your own get-together idea—showing camaraderie, congeniality, and what a treat it is to be together, for a chance win! *Retailers & their families are not eligible.
$100 each will be donated to Feeding America on behalf of 6 ...
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We are extremely proud of the diverse community and heritage of brands here at 41 Madison and together with FlowerSchool New York we’ve created these tablescapes to celebrate these world-renowned names.
Join us at The New York Tabletop Show and let’s #TableTogether with the world ππ½π₯πβ¨
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6 12:30-2:30PM IN STORE BOOK SIGNING!
Hope to see you all at this fun book signing! @thebakermamablog, Maegan Brown will be at Heart's Desire Frisco signing her new book, "Spectacular Spreads". If you loved her first book, "Beautiful Boards", then this one will blow you away! It's a collection of event ideas, recipes and INCREDIBLE instructions and photographs to help you every step of the way!
Don't Miss It! (if you can't be there...
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I've watched brands use social media to do an end-run around retailers. A recent article from RetailDive substantiates this. Excerpt:
"75% of social media users said they increased their purchases from brands they follow... A 2021 study from NPD found that 51% of survey respondents said they bought items thanks to content in their Facebook and Instagram feeds."
Translation: 75% of shoppers bought more from brands directly--which is bad for retailers. The article ...
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Historically, a young tech company like ours would go out and get a seed investor, then build up to venture capital (VC) money, do a few rounds of that, and then go public—and then down the road, take some private equity money. In sum, at various points, we’d need to fill our tank with funds from different sources.
That’s changing. In today’s market, everyone wants to invest and be a part of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) revolution (our space!). Private ...
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Hurray for Grandma’s China! They are hot and selling briskly once again.
“There was a long time when no one wanted to inherit Grandma’s prized wedding china, so valued she only busted them out for special occasions. Potential heirs dreaded the bequest thinking them fussy.” said Rebecca Malinsky of the Wall Street Journal. We agree with her.
But some new thinking has arrived recently, as people, especially young ones, are taking another look.
And they are thinking ...
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Brands share their products with stores via the Smart Products marketing platform. Wouldn't it be helpful to see how those products are performing? Now you can. We added a new feature to help Smart Brands see how their products are performing. When a Smart Brand partner browses to a product in its Bridge account, it will now see a 'Product Performance' area. If you use Instagram, this feature may feel familiar. Instagram lets you view performance statistics for posts. We have brought ...
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I’m seeing a disturbing trend online. Stores are not sharing news and events on their websites. Instead, they are relying on Facebook (and Instagram, which it also owns) to perform this task. That’s like a customer coming into the physical store and the store manager saying: "Want our news and events? We don’t have it here. Go to the coffee shop next door—which will be filled with our competitors pitching to you."
Join us from 11 - 5 at our Squirrel Hill location, 5873 Forbes Avenue. The Joseph Ribkoff representative will have the latest in denim fashions, along with matching tops and jackets.
* For every style of jeans tried on during the event, JR will donate $1 to the charity Dress for Success: https://dressforsuccess.org/
* For every purchase that includes JR denim, customers will receive a gift: a beautiful denim cross body bag (while quantities last).
* All pictures taken during the event ...
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This past week I finally started doing a better job of sharing our vision. A company’s vision and how it shares this story is a key pillar in its growth. A company can grow without being a good vision sharer (storyteller), but it makes the growth slower and harder. When one gets up on stage (metaphorically) and shares their vision, with passion, it’s magnetic and can help split the sea. What medium did we add to our story-sharing tools this week? Video. I made and shared ...
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Amazon Prime, Grindr, and Instagram do not seem to have much in common with each other. But, a recent study by PCloud found that these apps are some of the biggest 'data burglars': they are downloading our data at an alarming rate.
Many brands and retailers in our industry promote Facebook, yet Facebook and its sister company Instagram are the leading thieves of personal data. It’s akin to them suggesting their friend sit next to a digital pick pocket.
There are many e-commerce platforms from which to choose. A store owner can choose from more than 30 platforms including Bridge, Shopify, Big Commerce, and Big Cartel. Unfortunately, very few software providers are easy to set up and use. Most importantly, they may not improve retail sales. A store owner is surely mindful of increasing costs and wasting time on software.
Bridge, our e-commerce platform, helps more than 700 indie stores offer a website and bridal registry that...
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Make a Great First Impression with Versatile Items from Beatriz Ball
Your dwelling’s entrance says a lot about you. A guest picks up signals about your taste and style by the state of your entry.
To properly set the stage, we recommend a fabulous foyer table. A generously sized tray is another essential. Great for incoming letters, catalogs and magazines. Any of Beatriz Ball’s larger PEARL David trays will do. Multi-functional trays can perform double duty; employ them to...
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