That is the question my family posed to me last night during our more-frequent FaceTime conversations.
With the passing Labor Day weekend, students entering their in-person or online school year, and the ending of a strange summer season during a global pandemic, people are looking forward to a time that can bring spirit and happiness to the darkness: the holidays.
But how holly and jolly will this holiday season be in terms of shopping? After all, the holidays are notorious ...
Read More
Material Possessions, a gift shop in Illinois, needed a quick solution to boost its online presence. With Amazon and Covid-19 nipping at indie stores' heels, stores need to quickly boost their online offering.
In just 24 hours, Material Possessions opened a Bridge account and is currently offering 15,000+ products for sale. The retailer can sell these products directly from its Bridge Store--or it can export the products and import them into its parent website (https://...
Read More
I believe that no business will survive the COVID-19 pandemic alone. Together, we can help indie stores survive this crisis.
Here is what Bridge is doing to help members:
Bridge is hosting COVID-19 preparation webinars for retailers, brands, and sales reps. For retailers, we hosted three trainings this week. You are invited to watch a replay of the COVID webinar for retailers here: https://vimeo.com/402693440/844cc20eec Our webinar
COVID-19 RESPONSE
We have modified our operations temporarily as follows:
Available for PRIVATE or CONCIERGE SHOPPING Monday - Friday, 10 - 5
Curbside Pickup, Local Porch Delivery, UPS Shipping Available
Online Shopping 24/7 and we are adding your favorite items daily!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
We appreciate your business!
Target now sources 80% of its online orders from stores, not warehouses, shares the Wall St. Journal.
Stores have less foot traffic (foot traffic to U.S. stores fell about 6.2% on Black Friday ) and more online shopping (online sales reached $7.4 billion on Black Friday, up from $6.2 billion last year), forcing stores to convert 'floor' employees into roles dealing with e-commerce and shipping. "At the Brooklyn store around 80 workers handle internet orders, collecting products from shelves or...
Read More
July 17, 2019
July 17, 2019
What is your abandoned cart rate? This and other factors arose in a shipping survey conducted by BigCommerce.
Some survey findings:
+ Fifty-eight percent stopped shopping certain retailers because of a negative shipping experience.
+ Amazon Prime has set a high bar with free two-day shipping. In the past 12 months, 84 percent of global survey respondents made an online purchase specifically because it offered free shipping, and half said they avoid shopping with retailers that don’t offer free ...
Read More
June 9, 2019
June 9, 2019
Thank you, Janice, for your support and business! Our online shopping for brides or gifts on http://www.barbarastewartinteriors.com IS quick and easy! Complimentary gift wrapping and delivery too! Please let us know how we can assist you!
E-commerce is going to double in the next seven years, predicts FedEx. When that happens, how prepared will your business be? How will you prepare your website, your staff, your shipping procedures, your pricing, and your sales expectations?
When e-commerce grows that much, who will control the market? How will customers shop? Via their mobile? Via Alexa? If e-commerce is the dominant form of shipping, how will your online product selection and prices be kept up to date online? If online ...
Read More
May 2, 2019
May 2, 2019
Nordstrom is opening two mini-spots the size of a Dunkin Donuts to act as pick up locations for online orders and offer some small services like tailoring, shares today’s Times. This is a vote for online and not a vote for physical retail space.
I was going to recommened reading this Shopify article about converting website visitors to shoppers but then I realized what a rip off Shopify is.
In the screen shot shown, we see Shopify promote nine apps. The apps use the 'freemium' model where you try it for free, then often quickly get stuck paying. In sum, Shopify is nickel and dime-ing users.
When you use Shopify, it's like going to Disneyland and paying for each ride separately. You think that the theme park will be fun but by the time ...
Read More
January 6, 2019
January 6, 2019
Today’s Times investigates commercial property valuations for the purpose of tax collection. The article suggests that brick-and-mortar retailers are gaming the system to unfairly reduce their property value and therefore pay local governments less in taxes. In Michigan, from 2013 to 2017, this may have cost local government $100 million.
While this a fair investigation to undertake, I ask the Times to investigate the harmful tax effects of millions of shoppers buying at Amazon. Should we be ...
Read More
November 24, 2018
November 24, 2018
Online spending on Thanksgiving rose 28% over last year shares today’s WSJ.
Stores that have not invested heavily and intelligently in their website will not see this gain. The major issue facing indie stores is they haven’t fixed their online presence—after watching the majors spend billions on their e-commerce operations to get back on track.
There’s a big fork in the road coming: + Indie stores that continue with little web presence will fall off the map. + Indie stores that are part of a ...
Read More
April 9, 2018
April 9, 2018
In the book The Four, the author Scott Galloway praises companies that reduce the 'friction' of completing an action. For example, Uber makes ordering a taxi easier. In the case of Amazon (which I often rail against), he noted it makes online shopping easier.
Which leads to the questions: what is Bridge making easier? What 'friction' is it removing for users?
Bridge reduces the pain points for a retail business in these areas: + Adding products to its website. + Adding news to its website. + ...
Read More
March 19, 2018
March 19, 2018
What time do your customers shop online? This week's L2 newsletter shares that 8 pm is prime time for online shopping. The problem: your store is likely closed.
How can you provide customer service to customers when your store is closed? That is worth investigating and investing in.
Your Bridge team may help. Bridge is considering offering stores an outsourced 'live chat' feature for their website that operates after hours. If a store subscribes to this service, its customers can ask questions ...
Read More
February 14, 2018
February 14, 2018
Thanks to Michael Brezicky at Kitchen 2 Table for sharing this article about omnichannel commerce:
"In order to facilitate a customer’s independent research in the initial phases of their buying journey, a retailer must have their full catalog of shoppable inventory available online."
Bridge: Sounds like they need our Smart Product service :)
Excerpt:
"...high shipping costs accounted for 54 percent of online shopping cart ...
Read More
November 28, 2017
November 28, 2017
This ad by a retail real estate group caught my eye.
View Post
November 27, 2017
November 27, 2017
Excerpt from Adobe forecast:
Cyber Monday is expected to become the largest online shopping day in history, generating $6.6 billion in sales, 16.5% growth compared to last year. Sales on Thanksgiving Day are expected to increase 15% year over year to $2.8 billion. One out of every six dollars this holiday season will be spent between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, leading to $19.7 billion in sales.
Have your worried about charging different prices on your website vs in your store? You’re not alone. And it’s becoming more common. Today’s WSJ reveals how Wal-mart is charging more for some items online. Traditionally, online shopping has been touted as cheaper than in-store shopping. Let’s see how this experiment plays out.
View Post
September 28, 2017
September 28, 2017
I'm from Update New York and I want to help my hometown grow and succeed. Today's WSJ front page has an article about Elmira, NY struggling in the retail world. A few factors have led to this, including overbuilding of stores, a drop in shale oil production, and the rise of online shopping. The town's ability to provide services is now suffering because it relied on retail sale tax.
View Post