Shop Local, an e-commerce platform for indie retailers, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 56% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing. 

Study Findings:

• For 28 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 56% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has clients (48), the percentage grows

NEW YORK, NY — March 9, 2026 – Shop Local, the leading wedding registry platform for indie retailers, announced the 2026 Best Wedding Gifts award winners this week.  The honor is presented to the top 100 retailers and top 100 brands in America.  

The top 100 brand finalists included Juliska, Herend, VIETRI, and Costa Nova-Casafina.  The top 100 retail finalists were led by The Ivy House in Dallas, TX; Babcock Gifts in Memphis, TN; P.S. the Letter in Fort Worth, TX; and Friend

Brands are increasingly hiring “storytellers,” shares the Wall St. Journal. These storytellers are using social media, podcasts, and other novel marketing approaches to share a business’s story. Ironically, earned media, such as the WSJ newspaper (where I read about this trend), is not seen as a leading medium. Print newspaper subscriptions have fallen by 70% since 2005. (I'm a lone holdout: I still get the Times and WSJ each week; I used to get four print papers each day. My poor newspaper

Nice to see Caroline & Company featured in The Scout Guide Lafayette!

Caroline & Company uses Shop Local to power its wedding registry service. As shown in the article, the store offers a wide selection of premium tabletop brands to registrants, including these Syncing Brand partners:

• Annieglass
• Beatriz Ball
• Bordallo Pinheiro
• Gien
• Herend
• Pickard China
• Portmeirion
• Spode
• Vista Alegre

About Caroline & Company
Caroline & Company is locally owned and was founded in 1997 by Charlotte Cryer.

The New York Times shares 50 great Main Street clothing stores across America, including Ben Silver in Charleston, SC, a personal favorite.  

I was enamored with this shop soon after1994 when my mom moved to Charleston.  The shop, which sells bushels of colorful silk ties, sold a t-shirt with a tie printed on it (a tongue-in-cheek joke).  I ‘borrowed’ that idea and made a version with a Georgetown University blue and gray tie on it. (I got the flower shop next door to my apartment

Indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google when they use Shop Local. Merchants know this because of their page 1 rankings and how they beat big-box stores.

An example of this is P.S. The Letter in Fort Worth, TX. In a search for "texas wedding registry," the store ranked higher than The Knot, Target, Amazon, and Zola.

What can one learn from this finding?
By using Shop Local's software, indie stores have the best chance of ranking highly in Google. Their store will be found by

This week's news shared how Luckin Coffee, the Chinese coffee chain, requires all orders to be placed via a mobile phone. No barista will take your order. To me, this shows how even coffee is now a digital product. Software has eaten (sipped!) even the coffee market. This week's news cycle also shared that Starbucks is closing its standalone, mobile-led to-go stores. (It is keeping drive-in locations.) To me, this suggests divergent strategies: Luckin is leaning into digital and mobile, and

NEW YORK, NY — June 9, 2025 – Shop Local, the innovative e-commerce and wedding registry platform empowering indie retailers, announced today the addition of world-renowned brand, SMEG, to its growing platform. This latest addition marks a significant expansion of Shop Local’s premium product offerings into the kitchen and home appliance markets and reaffirms the company’s commitment to supporting local retailers through cutting-edge technology.

Shop Local now works with over 110 leading

Shop Local, an e-commerce platform, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 48% of states for wedding gift purchases. The findings are based on a recent study that Shop Local conducted regarding wedding registry purchasing. 

Study Findings:

• For 24 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 48% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has clients (48), the percentage grows to 50%.
• In these 24

Since I don't drive to work and listen to the radio or watch broadcast TV, I'm in a bit of a bubble when it comes to fast-food marketing. Thankfully, The Wall St. Journal helps me keep a pulse on America.  What caught my eye today was the Journal's article about Chili's, inflation, and its value offering. I was surprised to read that the cost of a fast-food burger meal has risen 62% in the last six years (2019: $7.50 -> 2025: $12).  Chili's is using the inflationary news to promote

NEW YORK, NY — April 27, 2025 – Shop Local, the leading wedding registry platform for indie retailers, will announce the 2025 Best Wedding Gifts award winners this week.  The honor is presented to the top 100 retailers and top 100 brands in America.  

The top 100 brand finalists included Herend, Juliska, VIETRI, and Beatriz Ball.  The top 100 retail finalists were led by The Ivy House in Dallas, TX; Babcock Gifts in Memphis, TN; P.S. the Letter in Fort Worth, TX; and Friend &

Fayetteville Main Street, a non profit that advocates for indie businesses in Fayetteville, TN, recently posted a giveaway on Facebook, inviting followers to write a note for small businesses. Inspired by this, we decided to write our own Valentine's Day note to our indie stores on Shop Local.

..........................

We 💌 Indie Stores

To: an indie store | Date: 02/14/25

You are the heart of your community. You give customers and registrants a meaningful experience and remind them that supporting

• For 31 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 62% of all states. When just calculating the states in which Shop Local has

These retailers using Shop Local located in Louisiana appear on page one of Google: 

1. John Ward Interiors & Gifts in Alexandria (appears twice 😊)
2. Pieces of Eight Gifts in Lafayette (appears twice 😊)
3. JADE in Metairie
4. Adler's in New Orleans
5. Friend and Co in New Orleans

How we conducted this study:
We Googled "wedding registry Louisiana."

Study Results:

• 5 merchants using Shop Local registry software appeared on page 1 of Google. 2 merchants appeared twice. There are 10 "organic 

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