We are pleased to announce that Kalalou is ready to Sync products with authorized retailers. Syncing products is free for your business. There is no charge. (The brand pays for this service.)
Kalalou joins our stable of 110 premium brands that Sync products with 1,200+ fine indie stores.
View Kalalou's Synced products
View the 1,500+ products you can Sync from Kalalou here: kalalou.myshoplocal.com
View an example of a retailer's Store that is ...
Read More
Next week is the Dallas trade show and next month is the Atlanta show. As you may know, I was a sales rep for 5 years. I owned a retail store, Magnon Jewelers, which was founded in 1890, for 37 years. Due to this, I know that preparing for the trade shows is a daunting task. Was I ever truly ready? :)
Let's help you and your stores make the most of the upcoming trade shows.
During the trade shows, Shop Local will pay you to help your stores. Plus, we'll...
Read More
See us in Dallas at the Ryan Associates showroom! Trade Mart #2630. We have new items in many of our popular patterns including Cypress Grove, Point Lobos, Lily Valley and Cozina.
View Post
How allocating our resources efficiently can help us save time, save money, and deliver value to our customers.
May 9, 2023
You've heard of Salsa-fy? It’s national, was started in Dallas, is used by 60,000 employees, and is used at more than 1,600 corporate locations. Salsa-fy helps businesses steer clear of trouble, offer the best value, and ensures profitability. You may interrupt me here and ask, “Jason, don’t you mean the software company Salesify?” No, I’m talking about the restaurant chain Chili’s and its approach to managing salsa, french fries, and its business. ...
Read More
Before May 31, 2023, send an email to your retailers inviting them to join you on Shop Local's e-commerce platform. We’ve written for you a sample email template you can send to them. Please find that template below. You can copy this template and send it using your email program (Outlook, MailChimp, etc.).
When you send your email, please BCC [email protected] or forward it after you send it.
How to save time when accessing popular product-related services and pages.
March 27, 2023
Your Online Store has a new feature: We've made it easier to access important product-related services and content. This feature reduces the number of clicks needed to perform actions and access pages.
In the Master Bar of your Store, there is now a Products icon. This icon’s drop down includes many of the popular product-related services your business likely uses. Previously, you would need to visit the Management home page to view many of these links.
How we can honor those that came before us in the retail industry.
March 2, 2023
The founder of Juan Pollo Chicken, Albert Okura, passed away last week at the age of 71. Mr. Okura envisioned Juan Pollo, a fast food chain with 25 locations in Southern California, as a household name that would someday sell the most chicken in the world. He believed in this so much that he bought the site of the original McDonald’s restaurant, located in San Bernardino, CA, in 1998—not to turn it into a Juan Pollo restaurant but rather into a museum to honor his fast food industry....
Read More
How to navigate between images for products on a registry list.
March 1, 2023
Your Bridge Shop Local Store has an updated feature: it's now easier to view products' images and browse to other related images on a registry list.
In the example shown, we see a registry list at The Ivy House, a fine china store in Dallas. In the product image thumbnail, we can see the number of pictures that correspond to the product. At the top-right of the image thumbnail, one can click the enlarge icon to open the product image modal.
In the product image modal, we can see the new ...
Read More
I'm giving you a $200 finder's fee when you refer a store.
When you refer a store, the store will receive $268. It will receive $100 towards a wholesale order with your brand and a $168 credit towards their registry service with us. (My company is paying the $100 wholesale order credit.)
This offer is good through May 1, 2023.
Summary: you give a store $268 and you get $200. (Bridge ...
Read More
How to encourage registry customers to purchase from a registry by sharing previous gift givers' names
February 16, 2023
Your Bridge Store has an updated feature to encourage customers to complete a registry purchase. Your Bridge Store displays gift givers' names on a registry's list.
Previously, the gift givers' names were only displayed by rolling over "Purchases" at the top of a registry list.
Now, the gift givers are also displayed in a box at the footer of a registry's list.
In the example shown, we see a registry list at The Ivy House, a fine china store in Dallas. At the ...
Read More
How integrating a messaging service into our e-commerce platform can help us acquire new customers.
January 31, 2023
It takes a lot of people to build a bridge, but just two to tango. This applies to the analog world as well as the digital one. In the digital space, I'm using tango to refer to messaging between two people. I believe messaging is a service we can add to our offering to diversify how our company Shop Local grows.
Different Networks Require a Different Number of Users in a Group
Andrew Chen in The Cold Start Problem states that a key difference among network models is the required minimum ...
Read More
Our retailers recently told us that customers are calling and asking about non-existent brides, and brides are asking about non-existent registry gift lists (e.g. wedding registry lists, baby lists).
We investigated the issues and below is what we found.
What is Happening:
We found that many of these purchases are coming from registrants that open a ‘universal registry’ on websites such as Zola or MyRegistry. These universal registry services allow the registrant to add ...
Read More
Our retailers recently told us that they were confused by strange registry orders. The stores are receiving gift registry orders on their sites but the retailer does not have a registry for the gift recipient at its store. Customers are calling and asking about non-existent brides, and brides are asking about non-existent registry gift lists (e.g. wedding registry lists, baby lists).
We investigated the issues and below is what we found.
What is Happening:
We found that many of...
Read More
We'll be there Wednesday, June 21 – Friday, June 23, 2023.
I'm happy to meet with you. To arrange a meeting, please email: [email protected].
Trade Show Materials:
We have 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:
I'm giving you a $200 finder's fee when you refer a store.
When you refer a store, the store will receive $268. It will receive $100 towards a wholesale order with your brand and a $168 credit towards their registry service with us. (My company is paying the $100 wholesale order credit.)
Summary: you give a store $268 and you get $200. (Bridge covers the $468.)
The ARTS award ceremony last night had four finalists for best Tabletop brand: Beatriz Ball, Casafina, Caskata, and LSA. I was pleased that three of the nominated brands use Bridge’s Product Syncing service (Beatriz Ball, Casafina, and LSA).
Congrats to the winner Beatriz Ball 🥳
I’m also pleased to share that our client Barbara Stewart Interiors in Bowling Green Kentucky was nominated for best Design Studio. Congrats to the owner Susan Hoechner.
Read More
At the Dallas trade show this week, I’ll be sporting our new Shop Local t-shirt. In flight to the show, I’ll be reading how network effects help businesses, including retail shops. Indie shops and network effects go hand in hand. Retailers can effectively grow via network programs, including Bridge’s Product Syncing service and referral and affiliate programs. To learn how networks can help your business, I recommend picking up a copy of The Cold ...
Read More