Shop Local Search: shopify

Automation Is the Future of Retail Today’s The Wall St. Journal shares that Walmart seeks to automate much of its business. Automation reduces costs and often makes customers happier because it lowers prices and speeds up processes.

Try to Automate Everything
Indie stores need to follow in Walmart’s footsteps ASAP and automate as much as they can, including:

Product information, pricing, pictures, and more (including website listings). (Inventory.)
Stock.
Marketing offers.

...Read more of post

Jim Flattum at Bridge 11:00 AM • November 7, 2024

Workshop: How to Add a Link On Your Official Website Leading to Your Shop Local Account

Workshop: How to Add a Link On Your Official Website Leading to Your Shop Local Account You’re Invited 💌

Great news: We are hosting a free, workshop to help you get more orders and wedding registries.

You're invited to join us. We'll help you add a link from your official website to your Shop Local account.

When is the workshop?

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 @ 10:00 am EST

Why attend?

When you have a link on your official website, customers can more quickly find your Shop Local Online Store and Registry service.
Registrants

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:37 PM • August 27, 2024

Shopify Integration 🔄

Shopify Integration 🔄 Great news: Shop Local now offers Shopify integration. Integration will save your business time and money.

Details:

Shopify integration with your Shop Local account is free. It's part of your subscription.
Initially, we set up the two systems to see each other. No data is synced unless you want it to be.
If you wish for a product or group of products to be synced from your Shopify account to your Shop Local account, it just takes a click.
This process is

...Read more of post

Abby Ramos-Dottin at Bridge 3:38 PM • August 14, 2024

Caroline & Company Saves $11,585 and 17 Weeks in Labor with their Shop Local Store

Caroline & Company Saves $11,585 and 17 Weeks in Labor with their Shop Local Store We are pleased to announce that Caroline & Company has joined Shop Local to grow its online business. Serving the Acadiana area for 27 years, Caroline & Company offers gifts, children’s clothing, home decor, furnishings, and more.

By using their Shop Local Store, Caroline & Company saved $11,585 and 17 weeks in labor on website product maintenance. The store will expand its online collection of gifts and home decor through ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:21 PM • June 15, 2024

Account Manager/Sales Manager

Account Manager/Sales Manager Good news: Shop Local is hiring. We're looking for:

Sales Managers.
Account Managers.

If you know someone who may be interested, please contact us.

We are experiencing notable growth: 1,400+ retailers now use our platform. We're driving double-digit revenue growth for our merchants.

Qualifications
We are looking for motivated people that:

Wish to see indie stores, brands, and reps succeed.
Support the shop local movement.
Are

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:52 PM • June 10, 2024

Our 8 Year Journey from Bundled Pricing to A La Carte Pricing Back to Bundles

Our 8 Year Journey from Bundled Pricing to A La Carte Pricing Back to Bundles We follow pricing for bundles and tiers of services. Over the last decade, we've tried various pricing approaches, as well as ways to visually convey these service offerings. In this post, I share the pricing for our services for retailers since 2017. In some case, we took a step forward and a step back--it wasn't linear progress. We've drawn inspiration from many sources, including our competitors and Tinder.

Presenting bundles is not limited to signing ...Read more of post

Jim Flattum at Bridge 6:11 PM • June 4, 2024

Workshop: How to Add a Link On Your Official Website Leading to Your Shop Local Account

Workshop: How to Add a Link On Your Official Website Leading to Your Shop Local Account Great news: We are hosting a free, monthly workshop to help you get more orders and wedding registries.

You're invited to join us. We'll help you add a link from your official website to your Shop Local account.

When are the workshops?

Thursday, August 22, 2024 @ 10:00 am EST
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 @ 4:00 pm EST
Thursday, October 17, 2024 @ 10:00 am EST

Why attend?

When you have a link on your official website, customers can more quickly

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:40 AM • May 23, 2024

TikTok Tick-Tock ⏳: Time Is Running Out on Traditional Retail

TikTok Tick-Tock ⏳: Time Is Running Out on Traditional Retail Kiara Springs, a 25-year old, is part of a new retail trend, shares The New York Times. She sells about $10k/month online but doesn’t own a brick-and-mortar retail store, pay a landlord rent, go to the wholesale markets, or have a POS system. Her “sidewalk” to get traffic is TikTok, and her “POS” is Amazon. Her “stockroom” is the brand’s warehouse. She has an Amazon affiliate account and goods are drop ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:46 PM • May 18, 2024

Health is Wealth: Healthy Websites 🍎

Health is Wealth: Healthy Websites 🍎 Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this article reflect personal opinions and observations based on experiences with website design and retail services. The content is intended to provide insights and suggestions for improving transparency and measurement in the industry. It is not intended to disparage or defame any specific company or service provider. While the author draws comparisons between the website design industry and the food industry, all claims are general ...Read more of post

Jim Flattum at Bridge 6:33 PM • April 22, 2024

Olive Branch Gardens Expands Mackenzie-Childs Assortment and Saves $2,740 and 4 Weeks in Labor with Shop Local

Olive Branch Gardens Expands Mackenzie-Childs Assortment and Saves $2,740 and 4 Weeks in Labor with Shop Local We are pleased to announce that Olive Branch Gardens in Wallace, North Carolina, has joined Shop Local to grow their online business. Olive Branch Gardens is a florist and gift store with a limited selection of MacKenzie-Childs products on their primary Shopify website.

Olive Branch Gardens 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 ...Read more of post

Jordyn Prince at Bridge 10:20 AM • April 17, 2024

Video: Add A Link on Your Shopify Store

Video: Add A Link on Your Shopify Store If your Shopify website does not have a link leading to your Shop Local account, your business is losing online sales.

Without a link, your business is losing out on:
1. More sales.
2. More registrants.
3. Higher Google rankings.

There is a free, easy solution: Add a link from your Shopify site to your Shop Local site.

Please watch the video here for steps on how to add a link:
https://vimeo.com/933348620/f11c8183ef

Please click here for written ...Read more of post

Jordyn Prince at Bridge 1:42 PM • April 8, 2024

Registry & Checkout Review: Gift Reggie

Registry & Checkout Review: Gift Reggie Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed in this article and video are based on my personal observations and experiences with Gift Reggie. While I have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, the experiences described may not be representative of all users. This article does not make any definitive claims about the practices of specific registry services or features. This review is intended to provide a personal perspective on the service and should ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 9:48 AM • April 3, 2024

Software Review: Gift Reggie

Software Review: Gift Reggie Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed in this article and video are based on our personal observations and experiences with Gift Reggie. While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, the experiences described may not be representative of all users. This article and video do not make any definitive claims about the practices of specific registry services or features. This review is intended to provide a personal perspective on the service and ...Read more of post

Abby Ramos-Dottin at Bridge 1:45 PM • February 15, 2024

Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States

Shop Local Retailers Rank on Page 1 of Google in 60% of States NEW YORK, NY, Feb. 15, 2024 – Shop Local, an e-commerce platform, reported that it's helping indie stores rank on page one of Google in 60% 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 30 state searches, Shop Local Stores appeared on page one of Google. This represents 63% of all states. When just calculating the states in which

...Read more of post

Jim Flattum at Bridge 12:26 PM • February 6, 2024

The Square Gift Co. Gift Shop Saves $955 and 1 Week in Labor Using Shop Local

The Square Gift Co. Gift Shop Saves $955 and 1 Week in Labor Using Shop Local We are pleased to announce The Square Gift Co. has joined the Shop Local community of retailers. The Square Gift Co. is a retail store in Fulton, Mississippi. The store owners, Jessica Howell and Keely McMillen recently placed an order with Casafina. When their shipment arrived, it contained a flyer promoting Shop Local. The flyer helped them more easily market and sell what was in the box online. The Square Gift Co. currently has a Shopify online store but was ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:31 PM • September 26, 2023

Are You a Brand? Shopify Isn’t For You

Are You a Brand? Shopify Isn’t For You Brands may consider using Shopify for their online operations. It’s important to note that brands can’t do many things with Shopify. A key Shopify problem for a brand is that the brand has to have separate “stores” for retail and wholesale customers. The reason is that Shopify doesn’t know what to charge the customer because it doesn’t know if it’s a general public shopper (that pays retail) or a retailer (that pays ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 3:07 PM • September 25, 2023

Simplicity ⚪️

Simplicity ⚪️ 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).

While this...Read more of post

Abby Ramos-Dottin at Bridge 1:01 PM • September 21, 2023

Shop Local Merchants Rank 700% Higher than Shopify Merchants

Shop Local Merchants Rank 700% Higher than Shopify Merchants Disclaimer:
The results and findings presented in this post are based on research conducted on September 6, 2023. These findings reflect the specific search results observed on that date and may not represent ongoing or future trends. Ranking of individual stores on Google may vary over time and across different locations, search terms, and other factors. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of similar ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:09 PM • September 10, 2023

Zero Sum Networks ⚔️

Zero Sum Networks ⚔️ Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this article are intended to stimulate discussion and reflect personal observations about business strategies in competitive industries. This article is not meant to make definitive claims about any specific company or its practices, and no direct comparisons between specific businesses should be construed as factual statements. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research to form their own opinions based on their individual ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:33 PM • September 7, 2023

Love Those Margins 💖

Love Those Margins 💖 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 ...Read more of post

Abby Ramos-Dottin at Bridge 4:02 PM • September 6, 2023

Shop Local Helps Indie Stores Rank on Page 1 of Google in 64% of States

Shop Local Helps Indie Stores Rank on Page 1 of Google in 64% of States Disclaimer:
The results and findings presented in this post are based on research conducted on September 6, 2023. These findings reflect the specific search results observed on that date and may not represent ongoing or future trends. Ranking of individual stores on Google may vary over time and across different locations, search terms, and other factors. The information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as a guarantee of similar ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:31 PM • September 3, 2023

Jugaad’a Do What Jugaad’a Do 🚀

Jugaad’a Do What Jugaad’a Do 🚀 India last month joined three other countries in the exclusive club that has put a craft on the moon. What’s unique about India’s accomplishment is that it did this at a fraction of what the U.S. spends on space exploration, shares Ben Cohen in The Wall St. Journal. While the U.S.’s NASA program has a $24b budget, India’s ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) budget is just $1.3b. India, which started its space program in 1963, is able to do ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:06 PM • June 30, 2023

Dr. Fill 👨🏻‍⚕️

Dr. Fill 👨🏻‍⚕️ Each April, I scramble to send my tax information to my accountant so I can file my taxes before April 15. Since my friends confide that they do the same, there are likely millions of people like us racing to prepare our taxes. What if there was a way to avoid this painful rush—and even the cost of it? The WSJ shares that Japan, New Zealand, and much of Europe get such relief. The countries prepare tax returns for their citizens using existing data, and the citizen...Read more of post

Winnie Marvel at Bridge 11:56 AM • April 12, 2023

Get $300 for Hitting "Send"

Get $300 for Hitting "Send" Would you like to help your stores and make $300?

Here’s How:

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

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:56 AM • February 24, 2023

For Sales Reps & Brands: $468 Give-Get Referral Promotion

For Sales Reps & Brands: $468 Give-Get Referral Promotion
For Sales Reps & Brands:

I have some great news for you:

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...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 9:10 AM • January 27, 2023

Do You Agree Defaults Are Important? ✅ Yes ___ No

Do You Agree Defaults Are Important? ✅ Yes ___ No When you look at your driver’s license, it lists if you’re an organ donor. Twenty years ago, only 20% of people were donors, but today 80% are—thereby saving millions of lives. Did people become more kind? No, the question on the application was changed from opt-in to opt-out. People signing up for or renewing a license are now by default enlisted in organ donation. Lesson: the right default answer in medical care can save millions of lives. ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:31 PM • January 10, 2023

For Sales Reps & Brands: $468 Give-Get Referral Promotion

For Sales Reps & Brands: $468 Give-Get Referral Promotion For Sales Reps & Brands:

I have some great news for you:

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.)

Why ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:58 PM • December 28, 2022

Referrals: Johnny Softwareseed 👨‍🌾 🍎

Referrals: Johnny Softwareseed 👨‍🌾 🍎 In the book The Cold Start Problem, Andrew Chen says that the 'network effect’ is really three effects:

The acquisition effect
The engagement effect
The monetization effect

In the beginning, a business seeking to build a network has to concentrate on acquiring users, even if they are non-paying. Companies often give away the service, especially software companies, and we can see that with Facebook, Slack, TikTok, and many others. &...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:26 PM • December 15, 2022

Next Generation ⏩️

Next Generation ⏩️ When we brainstorm about making Bridge better, we want to turn over every stone. We explore many avenues, from increasing collaboration to lowering product prices to enhancing marketing. What if an improvement was right in front of us—constant to all of these concepts? Regardless of what feature we offer, there is one constant: navigation. Navigation is fundamental to allowing members to easily find what they need—and discover what they didn’t know...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:27 PM • December 8, 2022

What's on The Menu? Giving Back

What's on The Menu? Giving Back While drinking Athletic, a non-alcoholic (fake!) beer, I noticed that its box proclaims that it gives back 2% to local trails. I love walking trails, and I thought: the next time I venture to have a sober night, I’ll pick up another box of Athletic. (Thanks, Athletic, for giving out $2.5m in trail grants.) Warby Parker gives a pair of eyeglasses for each pair bought (they've given 10m pairs!), while Bombas does this for socks. Bookshop.org gives...Read more of post

Abby Ramos-Dottin at Bridge 3:33 PM • December 7, 2022

New Feature: Assign Your POS and Website Software

New Feature: Assign Your POS and Website Software Your Bridge has a new feature: You can now easily assign your business's POS and website software.

In the example shown, the store has selected Intuit: Quickbooks as their POS software. When assigning Intuit: Quickbooks, Bridge software shares that 59 other businesses also use this POS software.

The store has selected Shopify as their website software. By assigning Shopify, Bridge software notifies the store that 103 other businesses also use this ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:35 AM • December 1, 2022

The Price is Right 🛒

The Price is Right 🛒 When we talk about prices, there are two prices that are important:

The price that we charge clients.
The price our clients charge their customers.

We normally talk about the former, aka how our prices compare with other competitors, like Shopify or wholesale services like Faire.

Of increasing importance to us is what our retailers charge their customers. Walmart recently announced that it was taking brands to account and ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:02 PM • November 9, 2022

Don't Laugh: Fun Is a Good Marketing Vehicle 🤹‍♂️

Don't Laugh: Fun Is a Good Marketing Vehicle 🤹‍♂️ Bridge has something that every store needs, but doesn’t really want: product data. We get stores to trust us that they need our product data for 64,000 products from 109 brands. They really don’t want the data—they want the sales from it. The data itself is worthless, but the sales from it are invaluable. Do you know who also has this issue? Funeral directors. Last week's Wall Street Journal shares that mortuaries are leveraging bonsai trees, ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:17 PM • October 12, 2022

Search Party 🔦

Search Party 🔦 Google is often considered the first stop when searching for information. Looking for a product? You'll likely head to Amazon.com, where due to its 350m product listings, 25% of purchases reportedly start. Facebook will be your go-to for finding friends and family due to its 2b profiles of people. Airbnb lets you search 5.6m places to stay. These businesses are likely your choice because people want a massive selection when conducting a search. Many of ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:44 PM • August 26, 2022

Click Hear 🎧

Click Hear 🎧 Whenever I visit my 76-year-old mom in Myrtle Beach, SC, she picks me up and the oldies station is playing in her car. I’ve tried changing that dial, and one has a better chance of outmaneuvering tennis star Daniil Medvedev. I imagine the oldies music brings her back to her youth. I read a study that people’s favorite song is often when they were 17 years old. That’s right: the 'best songs’ may not be the best songs but rather ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:34 PM • August 1, 2022

George Lois’ advertising advice

George Lois’ advertising advice George Lois, the adverting icon, wrote Damn Good Advice for those in the advertising field. In one section, he encourages us to highlight a truth. This may even include an assumption about a perceived weakness. Following George Lois' advice, I came up with these two pieces of ad copy for Bridge:

We’re smaller than Shopify. And that’s why you get more with us.
Shopify watches its stock price. We watch our customers' needs.

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:10 PM • July 26, 2022

Helping Stores Work More Efficiently

Helping Stores Work More Efficiently This graphic shows the situation in which many retailers find themselves. Many retailers are stuck trying to connect their digital wholesale buying and their stores’ websites.

On the left, we see wholesale software operators, including MarketTime, Juniper, Faire, Bridge, etc.
In the middle is the retailer.
On the right we see retail (D2C) software providers, including Bridge, Shopify, Big Commerce, etc.

The software entities on ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:28 AM • July 6, 2022

'Dem Apps 🍎

'Dem Apps 🍎 In the movie Good Will Hunting, Matt Damon, who plays a handsome MIT janitor moonlighting as a math savant (can one say, “Hollywood career vehicle”?), woos a young lady (played by the actress Minnie Driver) by outmaneuvering a few competing, obnoxious cads. When Damon’s character gets the girl's telephone number, he proudly shows it to the other guys and boasts, with his South Boston access, “How 'bout ‘dem apples?” I ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:45 PM • May 22, 2022

Businesses Should Want a Membership—Not a Subscription. Why?

Businesses Should Want a Membership—Not a Subscription. Why? When talking about memberships and subscriptions, these two business models are sometimes interchanged but actually are different. They often differ in their pricing, customers, and offerings. A subscription is often not a membership, but a membership often encompasses a subscription. A membership is often an elevated and more powerful subscription that collectivizes and leverages the subscribers.

What They Have In Common
With both models, you often pay a...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:19 PM • May 17, 2022

Connection 👫

Connection 👫 In the past, we’ve used spin classes and gyms as inspiration for Bridge. We see them as metaphors for helping retail business owners. The founders of SoulCycle, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, must have been eavesdropping on us: they are expanding their spinning approach to another sphere. The Times reports they have started Peoplehood, a business that seeks to help people via self-help (group-help?) sessions. It’s ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 3:42 PM • April 19, 2022

Competing With Ourselves🪞

Competing With Ourselves🪞 About two weeks ago in Charleston, SC, in spin class where I sounded like I was getting a hair transplant, I enjoyed being at once together with my friends in the class and yet competing with them. When they peddled harder and stood up, I wanted to also. Our competing didn't mean that there was one winner and everyone else lost. It wasn’t a zero-sum game. In that spin class, we all won. After that class, we all felt great. &...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:31 PM • April 12, 2022

Moat-us Operandi 🏰

Moat-us Operandi 🏰 When I flew home yesterday from Charleston, while most people were seeking relief from their sunburns and reminiscing about their vacations, I was delving into The Wall St. Journal’s profile on Tracy Britt Cool, an ex- Berkshire Hathaway star. Mrs. Cool’s new company Kanbrick invests in businesses with $10m - $50m in revenue. What does Mrs. Cool look for when investing in a company? People and moats.

At Bridge, we’re reading Jim ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:16 PM • March 30, 2022

How Does Bridge Compare to Faire?

How Does Bridge Compare to Faire? Stores and brands sometimes ask us: How does Bridge compare to Faire?

I thought we'd compare the two service providers.

Similarities: Bridge & Faire

Audience. Both service the retail industry. In particular, both service brands and retailers. Bridge also services sales reps, and Faire tries to steer clear of them--which is one reason reps don't like Faire much.
Delivery method. Both are online platforms.
Service offered. Faire is a

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 11:56 AM • March 15, 2022

Walmart+, Disney+ ...Bridge+?

Walmart+, Disney+ ...Bridge+? Businesses like Walmart, Disney, and Discovery are bundling services and adding the “+” suffix to denote them (e.g. Disney+, Discovery+, W+, etc.). In a recent article in RetailDive, we learn that Walmart is giving its customers free, six-month trial Spotify accounts. I think W+ bundling services is smart. Last week, I compared running a gym to offering software. I spoke about bundling services with things that people like to increase ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:37 AM • March 7, 2022

9 Ways Your Bridge Is Different Than Other Online Stores

9 Ways Your Bridge Is Different Than Other Online Stores There are approximately 40 online e-commerce providers. These software providers help other businesses sell online by offering them the ability to run an online store. These providers include Bridge as well as Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce, BigCartel, Square, and Weebly. Does Bridge offer a different (better?) experience than these other platforms? We believe the answer is yes. We also think our 960 retail clients agree: 99.7% of our retailers retain our service ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:03 PM • March 6, 2022

Our Digital Gym 🏋️‍♀️

Our Digital Gym 🏋️‍♀️ In a recent NY Times article about working out, the author Christie Aschwanden gives readers tips on how to make working out more enjoyable. (Read the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/well/move/habits-motivation-exercise.html). In reading this, I saw many parallels between working out and helping our stores get their websites ‘in shape.’ The author encourages readers to not think of working out as exercise and instead think of it as "...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:36 PM • February 28, 2022

Ready for the Ride: Peloton & Total Addressable Market

Ready for the Ride: Peloton & Total Addressable Market Peloton’s new CEO, Barry McCarthy, was recently interviewed in the New York Times (Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/business/dealbook/barry-mccarthy-interview-peloton.html). The authors asked Mr. McCarthy if he thought that everyone who needs a workout bike already had one. They questioned where else a company making stationary exercise bikes can go (…an ironic question for a bike product that literally can’t move). The ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 7:10 PM • February 15, 2022

Last Place...and Winning 🏁

Last Place...and Winning 🏁 This past weekend on the way to Florida to visit my brothers, I read about Squarespace’s advertising history. (Read the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/13/business/how-did-squarespace-know-podcasts-would-get-this-big.html). In 2009, Anthony Casalena, the founder of Squarespace, paid $20,000 to advertise on a tech podcast. While that was a lot for a small, young company (Casalena had started his business just six years earlier in a dorm room in ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:50 PM • February 8, 2022

Let's Make E-Commerce Fun

Let's Make E-Commerce Fun Most e-commerce platforms isolate you and leave you adrift. Bridge connects you with your business friends.

Bridge's unique features:

Built-in Social Network: Friend your business friends on Bridge. This allows you to share news and files, message each other, support accomplishments with one another, and share your passions.
Product Syncing Between Retailers and Brands: Save $1,000 and 50 hours on every 1,000 products you add to your

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:44 AM • February 2, 2022

Rapha 🚴‍♂️

Rapha 🚴‍♂️ I recently bought a pair of jeans from the bike-lifestyle company Rapha. I find Rapha's stores, emails, and mission to be inspiring to Bridge, and I'll explain why.

First, you may ask, "What is Rapha?" Rapha is a product company that sells goods for biking, including shirts, shorts, helmets, and accessories. What is unique is the lengths it goes to foster a community (and sales!) by having a coffee shop in it, organizing riding events, ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:41 PM • December 30, 2021

Bloomberg: Shopify vs. Amazon

Bloomberg: Shopify vs. Amazon Last February e-commerce company Shopify Inc. replaced the “Ottawa, Canada” dateline that began its press releases and earnings reports with a strange new one: “Internet, Everywhere.” The geographical shift came at the insistence of Shopify’s founder and chief executive officer, Tobi Lütke, who tends to view such matters through the prism of cold, hard logic. In May 2020, only a few months into the pandemic, he’d made the early, ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 7:48 AM • August 23, 2021

Small Pieces Of Paper / Big Trends

Small Pieces Of Paper / Big Trends Most industry trends can be drawn on a napkin—or a 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. I’ve found that drawing operational structures leads to clarity and helps illuminate future trends.

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:22 PM • August 21, 2021

It's Your Business to Be Happy

It's Your Business to Be Happy "Are you happy?” That’s a question you may ask yourself. Your parents and friends also likely inquire (I hope!). While it may seem flaky to say, happiness is important. This topic was the subject of Dr. Edward Diener, who passed away in April of this year. Dr. Diener, who studied happiness and earned the moniker “Dr. Happiness,” reported that happiness often correlates with social relationships, being with others, and not being alone.&...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:49 PM • June 19, 2021

Three Reasons 800 Retailers Choose Bridge Store

Three Reasons 800 Retailers Choose Bridge Store Let’s imagine a retailer wants to operate an online store. What would the retailer and its customers experience when using Bridge vs other software? We found that a retailer using Bridge can go from having no web store to one with thousands of products in under an hour. And, there’s no charge. Other software doesn’t offer this ability.

To highlight our findings, we put together this comparison graphic showing Bridge Store and Shopify. (...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:36 AM • June 17, 2021

WSJ: Shops Join Forces vs. Amazon

WSJ: Shops Join Forces vs. Amazon I enjoyed today’s WSJ article about stores teaming up to take on Amazon. Since Bridge has collectivized 800 indie shops to push back against Amazon, we can relate to efforts to help stores team up and boost their communities.

The article mentions Shopify and its popularity among indie shops. Shopify, along with BigComerce, Big Cartel, Wix, and Magento, are platforms that have helped indies to grow online independent of Amazon.

While we appreciate any ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 9:58 AM • June 14, 2021

Complexity is a Tax on Indie Businesses

Complexity is a Tax on Indie Businesses Business leader Scott Galloway said this past week on his podcast Pivot that "complexity is a tax on the poor." I'd expand on that and posit that: complexity is a tax on indie businesses.

What if indie businesses could reduce the complexity and costs of running an online business? I believe we can. Bridge is reducing the costs of running an online business for more than a thousand businesses.

How do we reduce the 'tax'? Bridge often helps a retailer...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:15 PM • May 13, 2021

Video: Learn How Brands Can Save Each of Their Stores $750 and 50 Hours (9 minutes)

Video: Learn How Brands Can Save Each of Their Stores $750 and 50 Hours (9 minutes) Watch the video at Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/548638211

In this video I share why retailers don’t add a brand’s products to their websites and therefore fail the brand and themselves in the e-commerce race.

Bridge’s Smart Products marketing service ‘bridges’ the gaps in online distribution. Bridge's service helps brands show 100% of the brand’s products on an infinite number of retailers’ Bridge Stores. The retailer can use...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:37 PM • April 27, 2021

In 29 States, Our Stores have a Page 1 Google Ranking

In 29 States, Our Stores have a Page 1 Google Ranking Bridge is helping indie stores take back market share:

When searching for gift registries, Google displays on page 1 more retailers using Bridge software than any other retailer or software provider.
Stores using Bridge are beating big-box stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, and Target in Google.
We are helping stores out rank online players like Amazon and Zola.
Bridge retailers are also ranking higher than stores using other e-commerce

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:00 PM • April 10, 2021

Expanding Bridge's Customer Base to Help More Brands

Expanding Bridge's Customer Base to Help More Brands Best of Thymes, an indie store in Iowa, just closed (https://bestofthymes.bridgecatalog.com/news.cfm?id=20645). Hopefully, they’ll continue to operate online and keep using Bridge. Best of Thymes is part of an industry-wide series of closures that is affecting large and small retailers. Due to this, brands are increasing their efforts to go D2C. Brands justify this by saying that there are fewer stores to show their wares. While this is true, surely they are ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:01 PM • March 25, 2021

We > Me

We > Me As a group, we're stronger. 'Me' websites, like those offered by Shopify, put businesses in a silo and isolate them. The store is left to fend for itself alone.

In contrast, Bridge is a social e-commerce platform that leverages the strengths of the group. We crowd-source product maintenance to show more products and sell more.

As such, be believe in: We > Me. This is 'the algebra of Bridge' ;)

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:06 PM • March 13, 2021

WSJ: Shopify Review

WSJ: Shopify Review This WSJ Shopify review compares some of the fees charged by Amazon and Shopify. It takes the author half the article before he starts sharing fee structures. (I’d have liked to see more statistics about fees charged and even a chart.)

Excerpts:

Shopify, founded in 2007 and now publicly traded, has 1.7 million sellers (note: that’s a brick-and-mortar store or a person in their basement; Shopify doesn’t differentiate).
A seller’s

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:11 PM • March 4, 2021

A Coach’s Review: How Does an Analog Retailer Survive in a Digital Universe?

A Coach’s Review: How Does an Analog Retailer Survive in a Digital Universe? There are many e-commerce platforms from which to choose. A store owner can choose from more than 30 platforms including Bridge, Shopify, Big Commerce, and Big Cartel. Unfortunately, very few software providers are easy to set up and use. Most importantly, they may not improve retail sales. A store owner is surely mindful of increasing costs and wasting time on software.

Bridge, our e-commerce platform, helps more than 700 indie stores offer a website...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:24 PM • March 4, 2021

How Does Bridge Compare to Shopify?

How Does Bridge Compare to Shopify? I created this comparison to help us see the differences between Shopify (shown on the left) and Bridge Store.

The orange dots represent comparable features.
The magenta dots represent features that Bridge offers out of the box but that Shopify is lacking.

Bridge displays the search box by default. Shopify makes you click on the search icon.
Bridge displays the telephone number at the top of the page. Shopify does not. Customers most often seek a phone number

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 11:10 AM • March 1, 2021

4 Easy Graphs Showing How Bridge Is Better Than Other E-commerce Options

4 Easy Graphs Showing How Bridge Is Better Than Other E-commerce Options Charts:

Number of products displayed on a website.
Cost and time required to add products to a website.
Cost to manage online store (dot graph).
Number of registries a store will receive.

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:26 PM • February 24, 2021

Amazon and Shopify Have a Baby: Bridge?

Amazon and Shopify Have a Baby: Bridge? Clients choose Bridge because we bring together many of the benefits of selling on Amazon or using Shopify.

To understand this, it helps to first view the e-commerce provider spectrum. Marketplace sites are on the left, and solo sites are on the right. In the marketplace model, the store's logo (the seller's logo) is often nowhere to be seen. The seller is like a cog in the machine working for 'da man (aka Jeff Bezos). On the other end, there ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:40 AM • February 1, 2021

Amazon Wants 'One Channel,' But Businesses Want Multi-Channel

Amazon Wants 'One Channel,' But Businesses Want Multi-Channel Reports suggest that 50% of purchases start on Amazon.com, and Amazon wants to keep it this way. Yet, businesses and merchants increasingly want to sell their products via their own DTC (direct to consumer) site, retailers' websites, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Due to this, Shopify, which powers many DTC and retailer websites, is a growing thorn in Amazon's dominance of retail. Shopify reportedly helps power more than 30% of online U.S. retail sales.

To...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:14 PM • January 1, 2021

WSJ: How Amazon Steamrolls Rivals and Partners

WSJ: How Amazon Steamrolls Rivals and Partners The WSJ covers how Amazon is growing its business at the cost of others.

Article highlights:

Amazon's leading selling points are endless selection and the lowest prices.
Amazon is so competitive that it often undertakes potentially unethical routes to grab more market share.
Amazon often takes a 30% commission on orders for third-party sellers. Due to this fee, many businesses prefer to receive orders on their own website which may be

...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:20 PM • December 13, 2020

FedEx Buys Online Shipping Service

FedEx Buys Online Shipping Service FedEx bought a ShopRunner, and online shipping platform that had already received $115 in venture-capital backing and an investment from UPS last year, shares RetailDive.

One doesn't shop on ShopRunner, rather one shops on other stores and looks for the ShopRunner logo when checking out. (Learn more about how it works here: https://www.shoprunner.com/how-it-works .)

A missing component for FedEx and UPS remains an e-commerce platform, such as Shopify, ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:48 PM • December 6, 2020

NYT: Shopify vs Amazon

NYT: Shopify vs Amazon Yiren Lu shares her experience of setting up a Shopify store in the New York Times magazine. Ms. Lu reports the setup process was easy, but her online Shopify store failed because it lacked marketing, aka eyeballs and orders. In her next article, I hope Ms. Lu tries Bridge. Bridge Store helps members fill the marketing component that Shopify is missing. When a store joins Bridge, Bridge instantly points hundreds of links to the store from other Bridge members...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 2:48 PM • November 16, 2020

Managing a website: the admin side and public side should be ‘sisters’ and not ‘distant cousins’

Managing a website: the admin side and public side should be ‘sisters’ and not ‘distant cousins’ This drawing shows how Bridge's design makes it quicker to administer your online business. Other platforms like Shopify have two 'sides': a back-end that clients use to manage their site and a front-end that shoppers experience. Bridge takes a different approach: we try to make the front-end and the back-end very similar. We believe they should look similar to make the experience consistent and easy to navigate. When a member is logged in as an administrator, we output ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:43 AM • September 19, 2020

Your Indie Sticker

Your Indie Sticker 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 ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:02 PM • August 16, 2020

Charting the Industry

Charting the Industry These days everyone wants to be a ‘digital company,’ but truth be told the heart of a digital company often lies in analog, traditional mediums like: paper sketches, face-to-face conversations, and inspiration from window shopping.

As an example of this, shown here is my stretch of the home goods industry that I’m converting to a digital graphic. While we’ll eventually view the finished chart via pixels, this idea was originally ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:21 PM • July 15, 2020

Press Release: Vietri and Bridge Partner to Help Independent Stores

Press Release: Vietri and Bridge Partner to Help Independent Stores FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VIETRI AND BRIDGE PARTNER TO HELP INDEPENDENT STORES
Retailers Can Receive $150 For Joining Bridge Network

July 15, 2020
NEW YORK, NY – VIETRI, known as the premium importer of luxury tabletop goods from Italy, has launched a new program to help its independent specialty retailers online and in-store. VIETRI has agreed to offer its authorized retailers a credit of $150 towards future purchases by opening a free account with the e...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:09 PM • May 16, 2020

How Much Does Building a Website Cost? A Comparison of Magento, Shopify, and Bridge

How Much Does Building a Website Cost? A Comparison of Magento, Shopify, and Bridge When a business offers a website, it's a costly venture. A business, such as an indie store, brand, or sales rep group, will build the site and then have to maintain it. On a day-to-day basis, it has to ensure the pages load quickly. This often requires the business use image-optimization software to reduce the page size and a CDN (content delivery network) to get the content closer to the visitor's geographic location. These costs add up.

Bridge and Shopify both ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:16 AM • March 2, 2020

Walmart follows Shopify and other players in to third-party fulfillment, shares RetailDive.

Read the full article:

https://www.retaildive.com/news/walmart-ecommerce-fulfillment-marketplace/572941/

Jason Solarek at Bridge 9:42 AM • February 17, 2020

Happy Presidents Day: George Washington VS Amazon

Happy Presidents Day: George Washington VS Amazon Shopify's Chief Operating Office said on CNBC last week:

“While other companies are trying to build empires, we are arming the rebels...”

That's a clever quote that could be applied to our retailer base. Bridge is helping hundreds of retail 'rebels' fight back against the hegemony of Amazon. Bridge gives indie stores and brands the software tools they need to connect, sell, and grow.

Today is President's Day, and rebels fighting a big ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:32 AM • December 17, 2019

Are websites a waste?

Are websites a waste? Are websites a waste? I'll thank they are and I'll explain. But first, it's important to note that websites are different from platforms. A website is something for which your business is solely responsible. A platform is a digital service to which you subscribe that you are not solely responsible. You may add content and pictures, etc. but you do not manage the technical aspects. You likely use platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and Airbnb.

Bridge is a ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:14 AM • October 22, 2019

How can you prepare for Black Friday / Cyber Monday?
Here's a checklist:

1. 'Seed the sale' by telling customers to expect deals.
"Promote sales, promote sales, promote sales," said Sucharita Kodali, principal analyst of e-business and channel strategy at Forrester. "It's the number one thing that shoppers look for during the holidays." (Source: Retail Dive)

You can do this via posts on Bridge and social media.

2. Craft an irresistible offer.

3. Organize your upcoming sales ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:36 AM • August 20, 2019

Gold in ‘Dem Thar Hill: How Shopify Is Failing Indie Stores

Gold in ‘Dem Thar Hill: How Shopify Is Failing Indie Stores
I went into a small shop in New York City yesterday and admired all their nice tableware. It offered mugs, cups, plates, drinking glasses, and vases—all items that are great for gift registries.

The store was empty. I thought it may be a good time ask the store manager if the store offered an online registry. He replied "yes." I was surprised because there was no signage in the store that said it offered a gift registry. I shared with him what Bridge...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 4:18 PM • July 24, 2019

Carol Schroeder recently shared an article about the 10 best e-commerce platforms (https://www.ecommerceceo.com/ecommerce-platforms/#Local)

I developed Bridge Network, an e-commerce platform, that is not included in this article. Here are some things I have learned over the last 20 years of e-commerce development:

1. The article’s ranking criteria includes themes and templates. I believe you don't need an assortment of templates to have a functioning (or successful) e-...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 8:06 PM • March 28, 2019

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 ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 11:48 AM • March 8, 2019

Mark Hayes shares 67 website performance indicators:

https://www.shopify.com/blog/7365564-32-key-performance-indicators-kpis-for-ecommerce

Jason Solarek at Bridge 10:01 AM • March 6, 2019

Casandra Campbell shares some inventory tips here: https://www.shopify.com/blog/inventory-management

Jason Solarek at Bridge 11:49 AM • December 10, 2018

Shopify, a fellow e-commerce platform, has a blog that shares business tips. Braveen Kumar recently shared some tips about getting traffic in the first 30 days of setting up a website, including:

1. Email your friends and family a discount/coupon. But note: don't spam people. Only send high-quality, unique content, and send it sparingly.

2. List your URL everywhere.

3. Join online communities/groups to share your business story.

4. Paid advertising:
- Facebook
- Instagram
- ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:32 PM • February 14, 2018

Reviews impact 10% of your Google ranking.
This raises the question: what service can you use to get more reviews? Bridge is helping retailers get 20X the numbers of reviews that Facebook does. We are beating theknot.com by 100X.

Google your business name and the word "reviews." Compare your Bridge site's number of reviews to what Facebook, theknot.com and Yelp offer.

Retailers using Bridge are noticing that their Bridge is becoming the #1 source for reviews--and that it's...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:46 PM • February 11, 2018

A game-changing service often wins in two out of three areas:
- Price
- Quality
- Time

Historically, when you adjust one of these variables, you negatively affect one of the others. For example, if you want a project to be done faster, you either reduce the quality or increase the price. When you want something cheaper, you often get it slower or reduce the quality.

A revolutionary service will change two or more of these factors with no noticeable impact on the other ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:39 PM • February 9, 2018

What if there was a way for stores to save $8,900?
If they could, stores could spend that on inventory instead.

We'll share how stores can save:

If one uses Shopify (a popular e-commerce platform) to make an e-commerce site, the store often signs up for a lot of recurring costs. In comparison, when a store signs up for Bridge, there are no fees.

Shopify
In the first year, the store may pay $6,000+ for using Shopify:
+ $79/month for Shopify general service (plan that offers a ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 11:25 AM • December 11, 2017

Dayna Winter penned a nice column on Shopify about how indie retailers can succeed.

Her tips:
1. Get community/local gov't support.

2. Band together with other businesses.

3. Have an online store/presence.

4. Promote each other/pool resources.

5. Promote what separates you from the other choices/communities.

6. Run community events.

Read more:

https://www.shopify.com/blog/116020101-community-is-at-the-heart-of-one-small-towns-commercial-success

We agree with Dayna's tips. We ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:16 PM • September 13, 2017

Shopify had a nice article about inventory management:

https://www.shopify.ca/blog/70603013-warning-youre-losing-money-by-not-using-these-8-inventory-management-techniques

Jason Solarek at Bridge 7:52 PM • August 8, 2017

The more reviews you have, the higher you'll rank in Google's local search results, shares Humayun Khun. He estimates that reviews are 10% of your Google ranking score.

He also shows examples of how reviews are shared between sites.

Check out the article on Google and local reviews here

Jason Solarek at Bridge 6:46 PM • July 9, 2017

Imagine you worked for 3 days straight and made $56? That's what happened to this business owner. This article on Shopify shows you hard it is for other online store owners to operate an online store and make a profile.

While the headline suggests success, any business person will see that that this article speaks more to the challenges than the opportunities.

I did like how Richard used his iPhone to do the photography, explored social media, and hit up his friends and ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:39 PM • May 13, 2017

Shopify has a nice read about 7 e-commerce mistakes. Here's a summary:

1. Don't assume having a website means you'll get traffic and orders. It takes WORK.

2. Be sure to add a logo.

3. Only show comment and reviews results if there are results. e.g.: don't show "0 comments" or "0 reviews".

4. Be sure to add an 'about us' section.

5. Take time work on your SEO. Skipping this is just laziness.

6. Focus on one or two key things--not six.

7. Point seven is really a repeat of ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 1:38 PM • February 17, 2017

Today, Shopify emailed me asking me to choose one of its paid plans. My free trial with it is expiring. As you may recall, last week I setup an online store to check out the service in order to compare it to Bridge. (Please read my review of Shopify here.)

What I find interesting is that most services offer a free account. A free account often lets you enter a limited amount of products. Shopify does not offer a free account. It offers a free 14-day trial. Thereafter, ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 3:02 PM • February 4, 2017

Shopify Could Be Called 'Nickle and Dime-ify'

Shopify Could Be Called 'Nickle and Dime-ify'
Shopify Could Be Called 'Nickle and Dime-ify'

Recently, two business friends told me to check out Shopify. They said they were using it to manage online stores. Since my company Bridge offers e-commerce software to 200+ retailers, I was curious to see how Shopify compared.

I signed up for an account as if I were a retailer.

I thought the sign up process was pretty easy. They didn't even ask me for a password. They automatically gave me one that I could change ...Read more of post

Jason Solarek at Bridge 5:46 PM • September 11, 2016

Questions about how to how to add Bridge to your online business? Here is a quick PDF sharing 3 potential solutions.

Jason Solarek at Bridge 12:58 PM • August 31, 2015

Brochure websites vs. E-commerce websites
Squarespace & Wordpress vs. Bridge & Shopify

Carol Schroeder, a store owner who pens a nice blog about retail, reviews website design services in her post this week. Carol mostly covers 'brochure style' website design tools. Brochure sites are characterized by attractive pictures and often a lack of functionality. My hope here is to stress how different brochure websites are from online stores. It's also to share my view that ...Read more of post

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