How a drawing on a bar napkin led to a software platform that processes trillions of calculations
April 15, 2024
In 2007, while sitting at the pub Moran’s with a beer, I drew a sketch on a napkin that would change our business. I drew a software model that would allow an indie store to instantly show (and sell) thousands of products online—without any labor. (The secret sauce: The respective brand would do the product update work for the merchants.) The immediate goal was to help my two retailers more efficiently load products onto their websites (and save me the boredom of doing it).
Upgrade your Home Bar with Top-Shelf Serveware from Beatriz Ball!
With retail sales of alcohol for home consumption skyrocketing, and severe restrictions for pubs and restaurants due to the pandemic, many of us are enjoying upgrading our home bars.
Beatriz Ball’s selection of PEARL David trays are indispensable serving pieces with infinite possibilities for dramatic presentations. Great on the bar to hold bottles, glasses and garnishes.
It’s hard to believe that MEPRA’s sophisticated technicolor collection FANTASIA is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year because its incandescent chromatic complexion is as fresh today as its 1989 debut.
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The brilliantly-hued fantasia comes from the Italian silversmiths Mepra, post-war business founded in 1947 by the Prandelli family, four generations fashioning flatware in the industrial Lumezzane Valley, about 90 minutes east of Milan. ...
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How a local shop quickly opened an online store with a gift registry and saved $18,000+ in costs.
January 12, 2024
We are pleased to announce Serenite Home has joined the Shop Local community of retailers. Serenite Home is a retail store and design studio in Daphne, Alabama. The store owner, Laura Downing, recently relocated her business from California. Her passion for interior design led her to expand her services to include a retail store with home furnishings, gift and tabletop offerings.
Within a very short time, Laura had a live Shop Local Store:
Brighten your day by adding a pop of color to any room! Our Royal Check collection is all about blooming your interiors with an aura of luxury, tranquility and color.✨
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Inspired by decorative and architecture elements present in classic gardens, where time has passed, imprinting history, memories and personality, Bordallo Pinheiro has recreated a universe of expressive and interpretative potential. The Meaning is a collection made up of pieces that demanded the utmost effort of the brand’s production – excellent modelling, demanding assembly of the elements of each piece, rigorous selection of colors, glazes and paints, as well as painstaking hand ...
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Your Shop Local account offers a built-in solution to shop thousands of products. The Wholesale service combines the best features from wholesale marketplaces and buying on a brand’s site into a new service. Shop Local retailers can save time and money by using the Wholesale service.
The Ivy House, an indie retailer in Texas that has used our e-commerce software since 2015, uses the Wholesale service to save time and money. Laura May, the owner of The Ivy House, easily places...
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Toast, bagels, croissants, and muffins are just a few of the delectable treats that complement this stylishly hand-woven bread basket made of durable natural vines. It tastes as nice as it looks and looks as good as it would in a fine restaurant. This holiday season, start your day with your loved ones by being grateful for everything you have, including your friends and family. Merry Christmas to everyone!
It’s a 40th anniversary for the company founded by Colin Riggs (left) and Ned Voelker’s parents, Abigail and Ed Voelker. Over the last four decades, the entire family has created a curated collection of handmade tableware and giftware for the nation’s independent store retailers.
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Congratulations on a milestone 40th year in business. Are you surprised Abigails has endured? Ned Voelker: We are surprised. It’s a tribute to Ed and Abbie ...
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We'll be at the Dallas Market Center show Wednesday, January 10 - Friday, January 12, 2024. We'd love to meet with you and hear about your business and what you're seeing.
Trade Show Materials
We put together the following materials for sales reps and brands. Please share these materials with your retailers. Please print these for use during the show:
1. Explanation Materials
A flyer showing featured Brand Syncing partners. We have 115+ partner brands. You'll likely see
Great news: You can save 20% off your annual service.
This is like receiving almost 2 and a half months of service for free.
This 20% discount is double our normal 10% and has never been offered before.
This offer is only good till December 13, 2023.
I imagine you wish to take more vacations in 2024 (Paris or Patagonia?), see family and friends more often, or eat at that (expensive) new restaurant. When you pay for Shop Local's service for the year, you'll have more money to do ...
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Toast, bagels, croissants, or muffins are just a few of the delectable treats that go best in this artistically hand-woven bread basket crafted from robust natural vines. It tastes as excellent as it would at a sophisticated restaurant and presents beautifully on any kitchen table. Start your day this Thanksgiving morning by giving thanks for all that you have, including your friends and family. Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving!
CALAISIO
natural elegance, extraordinary durability...
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How restaurants, hotels, and tableware brands are using loyalty programs--and what indie stores can learn from this.
October 11, 2023
Perk-y
I recently read about a new loyalty program and wondered what we could learn from it. The founder of Eater and Resy, Ben Leventhal, has started Blackbird, a loyalty program service designed for indie restaurants, reports The New York Times (Read the article). Using the Blackbird app, a diner receives a perk for eating at a restaurant. The retailer sets tiers for which the user qualifies for the perk. For example, a restaurant, Nat’s on Bank in New York City, gives tier 1 customers ...
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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).
Veselka, a famous Ukrainian restaurant on my block, shared this on their Instagram.
P.S. ~ I’m reading The Cold Start Problem, a book about network-based companies. It’s helping me understand how to help indie stores and brands connect online.
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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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How partnerships can be used as a marketing tool to elevate a company's brand and reputation by associating with quality partners.
August 7, 2023
I’m at Sweetgreen, a salad-focused restaurant, and I spotted this sticker on the preparation window. Sweetgreen is promoting Sullivan Street Bakery. Why would it dare do that? I believe it’s because it benefits Sweetgreen: people use a brand’s name to quickly deduce information, such as quality and value. People know that Sullivan Street Bakery is good. And, even if they don’t know it, they know that a bakery provided it and that it’s not from some stale loaf....
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America's favorite lunch items must come in bread baskets. The rustic aesthetic that guests appreciate is captured in Calaisio's honey brown woven bread baskets. The food presentation is more enticing due to the naturally woven aesthetics and the natural brown, yellow, and red tones inspired by nature, especially from exotic forest vines. Take a look at our collection of exquisite bread baskets.
EMON MAASHO, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF ORREFORS, NORTH AMERICA, is representative of the exciting trajectory in this 125-year operation. The über-exec joined the New Wave Group in 2013, a time when Orrefors and Kosta Boda (OKB) were underperforming assets in the portfolio. "Our crystal brands are national treasures and a part of Swedish history," Maasho affirms. And he wanted a front row seat in their revitalization. Maasho was placed in charge of the new hotel and restaurant division ...
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A shopper, Laura Armistead, shared this review regarding her experience on our Shop Local platform:
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“My online shopping experience at Elizabeth Clair’s was wonderful! The site was easy to navigate, and it took no time at all! As always, the customer service was excellent and pleasant! Thank you so much!”
Ms. Armistead made a purchase at Elizabeth Clair's, an indie retailer that has used our e-commerce software since 2018 and has two locations in ...
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