Shop Local Globally 🛍️🌎

As I was looking for inspiration for an intro for our weekly team report to combat my writer's block (props to Jason because I don't know how he comes up with something new every week), I came across a Forbes article about Ace Hardware celebrating 100 years in business. The article's title caught my attention, so I decided to give it a read.

From Local Roots to Global Reach
The title of the article, "From Local Roots to Global Reach," resonated with what we do at Shop Local. We offer retailers and brands the ability to reach customers they may otherwise not reach without their Shop Local Store. For example, a store in a small town in Wyoming now has a chance to help their registrant get a gift from Uncle Tom while he vacations in Greece. A brand in Italy now has a chance to help an indie store offer top products to their customers with no work on the retailer's end, saving them time and money. Uncle Tom and the Italian brand contribute to supporting local businesses, no matter where they are in the world.

Three Pillars of Growth
The article mentioned Ace's focus on three pillars of growth: service, convenience, and quality. While we don't explicitly list these as our main pillars, I believe Shop Local embodies them as well:

• Service: In a world rooted in technology, we still prioritize helping members with real people. We offer members free, live customer service through various channels, including live chat, to assist members anytime, anywhere.
• Convenience: Our software makes it easy for members to quickly establish an online presence. Retailers have access to an Online Store, a registry service, and the ability to place wholesale orders all in one place. They also have access to thousands of products from top brands that they can easily Sync with to save time and money. Brands similarly benefit from an Online Store, a registry service, and the ability to receive wholesale orders, along with access to top retailers to grow their businesses.
• Quality: We've compared other sites and services to ours and have found time and time again that we offer a superior experience compared to others. Our registry service offers a better experience for the big 3: the member, the registrant, and the gift giver. We also continuously improve our software by simplifying processes and adding new features to make it easier for our members and their customers.

Fostering Community with Local Customers
The article goes on to talk about how Ace fosters community with local customers. Through Shop Local's retail network, we help members build a sense of community beyond a computer screen. As listed on the Shop Local sales site, "Retail leaders use the network to share, comment, and interact with news, events, price lists, products, PDFs, Excel files, and more." The network helps brands and indie stores in the industry support each other's businesses, stay connected, and convey the importance of shopping local.

While we likely won't be around to celebrate when Shop Local turns 100, our team can at least be proud of the work we do for indie stores now and the impact we're making. We're helping indie stores offer a great online experience to customers around the world. Let's continue supporting "shopping local and developing community-empowering software."

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ace hardware 100 years forbes global reach

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