How an invitation from Syncing brand Mackenzie-Childs helped this retailer set up an online store in only one day
April 8, 2024
We are pleased to announce that FairyTales in Lombard, Illinois, has joined Shop Local to grow their online business. FairyTales is a family-owned store that offers home décor, unique gifts, collectibles, apparel, and more.
FairyTales saved $2,740 and 4 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to expand their online store assortment and offer a gift registry program.
FairyTales, Inc. is celebrating 30 years of ...
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What the retail industry can learn from Google and Amazon teaming up on technology standards.
September 19, 2023
Google, Amazon, and an array of home appliance companies are teaming up to make it easier for you to dim your home’s lights and lock your front doors. They are adopting a standard called Matter that allows devices to communicate and work together, shares The Wall St. Journal. This allows a giant like Amazon, creator of Alexa devices and Ring doorbells, and Tuo, a small home device tech creator, to use the same platform yet keep their internal, proprietary code base. This standard is like a...
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How a company's sales and growth can be affected by the message it conveys to customers.
July 18, 2023
Allbirds stock is down 95% since its November 2021 initial public offering. People may say the company launched the wrong products (did you buy one of their puffer jackets?) or tried to grow too quickly. I believe there is a larger reason: you can’t scale a company by leading with an environmental message—which is Allbirds’s pitch. Consumers rank saving the planet as one of their least pressing concerns when making a purchase. The leading factors consumers look for when ...
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In today’s Times, we learn that Amazon is raising and lowering the prices of items millions of times a day. We also learn that it has displayed different prices for the same item based on who you are. Imagine going in to a store and the paper towels are $3 for the person next to you but $4 for you.
I can attest to Amazon changing prices multiple times a day because Amazon crawls my retailers’ websites multiple times a day. It’s as if they have spies coming in our...
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We have exciting news: Retailers can now place wholesale orders via Bridge. If you are an authorized dealer, you can purchase from these participating brands:
Anna Weatherley
Beatriz Ball
Calaisio
Casafina
Costa Nova
Couzon
Herdmar
Kim Seybert
Mario Luca Giusti
Medard de Noblat
Meissen
Pickard China
Pickard Crystal
Pinto Paris
Portus Cale
Royal Crown Derby
Varga
Why is Bridge Wholesale Better?
Speed: Bridge Wholesale reduces the number of steps&
While waiting for breakfast, I noticed this ‘Boycott Amazon’ sticker. I think that getting customers to stop something—or start something—is a tough practice. There are fields of science (psychology) and marketing (branding) dedicated to this. Is it easier to get someone to start or stop (boycott) something?
I think that offering a solution (start something) is easier.
I recommend that stores encourage customers to choose them over Amazon because the ...
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September 9, 2019
September 9, 2019
How do you compete with Amazon on its own turf? Seattle-based retailer Timothy De Clue promotes its website offering thousands of products. The store displays its Bridge decal on its front door: "Shop 1,000's of Gifts Online."
Need a decal? Just ask us. We'll mail you a 'Shop 1,000's' decal for free.
Imagine that your website is a digital version of your physical store. In this graphic, I compare your roof to your website's meta data, your sidewalk to your wedding website traffic, and your store window to your home page's slides.
Heres how your store compares to your website:
1. Sidewalk = Small websites and blogs that lead to your website such as local newspaper sites, local community groups, and wedding websites. These sites provide ‘foot traffic....
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April 6, 2019
April 6, 2019
I just opened a box with 400 new decals for our stores! Stores can place these two-sided decals on their front doors and windows next to their Visa and Amex decals.
Please message us to get in front of the line for who will receive these first. :)
From front door, to kitchen and sun room, over DR chandelier. Rickey Heromans decorates it all
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July 6, 2017
July 6, 2017
Try, Then Buy? Amazon’s Move Is Part of a Shopping Trend
Read the story from today's NY Times. And it isn't only fashion sites and Amazon that are doing this. Jewelry stores are also getting into the act. Is Tabletop next?
Full text: When I was a child, I would watch my grandmother try on dresses and coats she had brought home on “appro” (or approbation) from Mrs. Downey’s boutique in Dungarvan, Ireland: deciding, at her leisure, what to buy and what to return. Who knew that, decades later, “appro,...
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June 6, 2017
June 6, 2017
How can you understand SEO and Google? Check out this diagram I made comparing your physical store to your website. There are many parallels between the two.
Roof = your website’s page title & meta data. Very important. No two 'roofs' should be alike.
Signage = branding.
Front door = easy navigation on each page for quick access.
Display window = large pictures of products that you’re selling.
Store hours in the window = your website’s listing of ways to contact you, preferably on each page.
Colleen's China shared this picture of its store window featuring the Bridge decal. You go, Katherine! ;)
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July 12, 2016
July 12, 2016
Curious where other stores are placing their decals? Check out Serendip. They placed theirs by the front door and the other on the back of their checkout computer.
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June 6, 2016
June 6, 2016
The Crystal Plate, a boutique tabletop shop in Georgia, emailed us these pictures of its store. Mary Beth, the owner, placed Bridge's "Ask Us About Our Bridal Registry" decals on her front door and window. Looking good! ;)
Request a free bridal registry decal from us today. We'll give two decals to any Bridge retail member. The decals are 3" tall by 6" wide and come in a green or a white design.
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June 3, 2016
June 3, 2016
Here is our new green "Ask Us About Our Bridal Registry" decal at work on William-Wayne & Co.'s front door on Lexington Avenue.
Don't have your decal? Request a free one from us.
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June 3, 2016
June 3, 2016
Keep an eye on the mail: you've got a gift coming
We have mailed you two free decals to promote your bridal registry. The decals go in your store window and by your cash register.
Please find the introductory letter that accompanies the decals below:
.......................................
Easily Increase Sales
June 2, 2016
Dear Bridge Retailer,
Enclosed please find decals to promote your bridal registry service.
Many retailers have used these decals to boost their sales by $1,000s.
How does your physical store compare your online store? I created this comparison below for my marketing friend Diane.
Your Physical Store vs. Your Online Store:
Sidewalk = small websites and blogs that lead to your website, such as local newspaper sites, local community groups, a bride’s gift registry that links to your store. These sites provide: foot traffic.
Road = major websites that lead to your website, such as Facebook, the New York Times site, etc. These sites provide:
Fisherman's Wife, a boutique with lots of charm in North Carolina, shared this picture. The store put its Bridge gift registry promotion on its front door. Tell us how it helps increase awareness. ps - we'll get you a professional decal soon. ;)
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