NEW YORK, NY, August 26, 2026 – Shop Local, an e-commerce platform for independent retailers, reported that its retailers appeared on the first page of Google in 68% of states when shoppers searched "wedding registry" alongside a state name. Among the 48 states where Shop Local has clients, its retailers landed on page one in 34 states, or 71%.

In many of those searches, independent stores ranked ahead of national retailers and registry giants, including big-box brands like Walmart and Target.

That is a hard thing to do. National chains run hundreds of locations and spend heavily on marketing. Independent stores run small teams on small budgets. Yet on the search that matters for registry shoppers, the indies showed up first.

"For years, retailers were told they couldn't compete online with the big guys," said Jason Solarek, founder and CEO of Shop Local. "This proves they can. When an indie store in Mobile or Huntsville outranks Walmart on Google for wedding registry, that's not luck. That's the power of small retailers teaming up. I couldn't be more excited to help Main Street win registry shoppers back from the national chains."

Small Shops, Big Placements

Several states saw multiple Shop Local retailers on page one. Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas each had five retailers appear on the first page. Georgia, Louisiana, New York, and Pennsylvania each had four. (In general, the first page of Google has ten ‘slots.’)

Alabama was among the strongest. Five Shop Local retailers appeared on page one for "wedding registry Alabama":

• Lawren's Gifts in Huntsville
• Ivy Cottage in Mobile
• Al's Flowers and Gifts in Montgomery
• Zundel's in Mobile
• Shealeigh's Gifts in Athens

For a shopper searching statewide, that means five chances to find a local store instead of a national chain.

34 States on Page One

Shop Local retailers reached the first page of Google in these states:

Alabama (5), Mississippi (5), South Carolina (5), Texas (5), Georgia (4), Louisiana (4), New York (4), Pennsylvania (4), Florida (3), New Jersey (3), Oklahoma (3), Tennessee (3), Virginia (3), Wisconsin (3), Arkansas (2), Delaware (2), Illinois (2), Kentucky (2), Maryland (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Nebraska (2), North Carolina (2), Colorado (1), Connecticut (1), Idaho (1), Indiana (1), Iowa (1), New Hampshire (1), Ohio (1), Utah (1), Washington (1), and Wyoming (1).

Shop Local’s retailers pay no extra fee for these high rankings. The placements come from tools built into Shop Local's software: properly structured website pages and relevant links pointing to client sites.

Why It Matters

For most shoppers, Google is where the search starts. Page one is where the business happens. A first-page placement puts an independent store in front of shoppers who would otherwise never find it.

"I can't promise every retailer the top spot on Google," said Solarek. "But I can tell you what doesn't work: trying to fight Amazon, Walmart, and Zola alone. When indie retailers team up with their brands and their community, they punch way above their weight. This study is the proof."

How the Study Was Conducted

Shop Local ran the research in August 2026 by searching Google for "wedding registry" followed by each state name. Researchers reviewed the 48 states where Shop Local has clients. The company does not currently have clients in Alaska or New Mexico. Google results shift with location, timing, search history, and other factors, so the study is a snapshot of August 2026, not a guarantee of future rankings.

About Shop Local

Shop Local was started to solve a pain point we saw retailers living with every day. In 2007, founder Jason Solarek ran a small design agency that managed retailers' websites. He watched indie retailers struggle to update their sites and spend far too much doing it. Excel and Dropbox were frustrating and never built to share retail products easily or cheaply. So Solarek and his team built their own way to share products. That solution, which was initially called Bridge, grew into the Shop Local platform.

Today, Shop Local’s e-commerce platform helps businesses open an online store, share products, sell products, and run their gift registry services. 1,420 brick-and-mortar retailers use it to sell more and save time. More than 100 brands use the syncing service, including Juliska, Herend, Baccarat, and Vietri, to output their products in authorized retailers' Shop Local Stores. This helps stores boost the brand’s online selection, cut website maintenance costs, and speed product to market.

American Express called Bridge's Shop Local service "Facebook for retailers." British Airways named it one of America's best startups. The Shop Local Store includes consumer-facing features like an online gift registry service, plus a suite of B2B productivity tools: a social network for businesses, file sharing, wholesale ordering, and invoicing.

All retail business types are invited to sign up for a free account at shoplocal.org.

Media Contact

SHOP LOCAL
E-commerce & Gift Registry Platform
Powered by Bridge
339 East 9th St., Suite B
New York, NY 10003
coach@bridge.org 
Office: 212-254-9655
Live Chat: https://direct.lc.chat/17768736/
shoplocal.org