See You in Dallas in June 2024We'll be at the Dallas show Wednesday, June 19 – Friday, July 21, 2024. We'd love to meet with you and hear about your business.
Are you a brand or sales rep that uses Shop Local?
If so, we 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:
A flyer showing featured Brand Syncing partners. We have 114 partner brands. You'll likely see your
View 10 Years of Price Changes by SyncingStores that have a Shop Local Store use the Syncing service to save time and money on product maintenance. After a brand loads their products to their Shop Local account, the products are Synced in real-time to retailers' Stores.
The brands do their respective maintenance work by adding and updating the products—saving the retailer from having to do it. Part of this maintenance includes updating prices for items to ensure they are up to date. By updating ...Read more of post
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
Thanks to Wayne for Being a Client for 23 YearsIn October of 2001, I walked into William-Wayne & Co. in New York City with no appointment. I asked for the owner, was introduced to the co-owner, and suggested he build a website. The two owners, William and Wayne, agreed to discuss it further with me and we scheduled a meeting. Nine months later, William-wayne.com was born.
We’ve updated the website since then, but the fundamentals have stayed the same.
17 Wedding Registry Features That Are Unique to Shop LocalWhen we compared our registry service to other registry software, we found 17 unique ways that our registry service helps gift givers, registrants, & merchants. Many other registry services don’t offer these 17 features below.
6 Ways Our Service Helps Gift Givers in Ways That Other Services Do Not
Gift Giver’s Experience (E.g. Friend or family member giving a gift)
The gift giver can easily find the registrant’s gift list because the
Exponentially Better: The Math Behind Our Shopping Platform 🔢In 2007, while sitting at the pub Moran’s with a beer, I drew a sketch on a napkin that would change our business. I drew a software model that would allow an indie store to instantly show (and sell) thousands of products online—without any labor. (The secret sauce: The respective brand would do the product update work for the merchants.) The immediate goal was to help my two retailers more efficiently load products onto their websites (and save me the ...Read more of post
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.
Get the new 2024 Model 3 Tesla for free The new 2024 Model 3 Tesla is here and a store owner can get it for free. All they have to do: replace their labor-wasting website maintenance with our Syncing service. A store owner saves more than $400 (the average cost of a Tesla lease) each month and make their customers happier.
Software Review: Gift Reggie Our registry service handles 80,000 gift and wedding registries. We often come across other registry software and can see how it's affecting the merchant that is using it.
While eating breakfast and browsing the web via my phone, I recently came across RFD, a merchant in Albany, NY, that uses Gift Reggie (an app that is added to a Shopify Store).
I observed 21 problems while reviewing the merchant's registry service. I initially wrote the issues ...Read more of post
Are Price Increases Costing Your Store 8%? 💰In March, brands raised their prices on 828 products, producing an average price increase of 8%. If a retailer didn’t make these changes, these price increases would cost their store 8%.
Thankfully, indie stores using Shop Local have the updated price for these 828 products. They don’t lose 8%. The stores receive the updated prices instantly via our Syncing service.
About the Syncing Service
Syncing is a free service for retailers that is paid for by ...Read more of post
Alternatives to MyRegistry.comAs a store owner, you know how important it is to choose a registry service that works well for you, your employees, your registrants, and gift-givers (family and friends). In addition to working well, the registry service should offer your store good value (price vs. results).
When looking for registry software, some retailers consider MyRegistry.com for their registry service. MyRegistry.com offers gift registry creation and management features that integrate ...Read more of post
Home Tonic Saves $4,120 and 6 Weeks in Labor with Shop LocalWe are pleased to announce that Home Tonic in historic Newton, Pennsylvania, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. This home furnishings, accessories, gifts, and design shop is conveniently located between New York City and Philadelphia. They are a favorite of Bucks County residents and visitors.
Home Tonic saved $4,120 and 6 Weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to...Read more of post
Alternatives to Gift ReggieAs a store owner, you know how important it is to choose a registry service that works well for you, your employees, your registrants, and gift-givers (family and friends). In addition to working well, the registry service should offer your store good value (price vs. results).
When looking for registry software, some retailers consider Gift Reggie for their registry service. Gift Reggie offers gift registry creation and management features that integrate with a ...Read more of post
Zwilling Joins Shop LocalWe're pleased to share that renowned cutlery brand Zwilling is joining the Syncing service.
We expect Zwilling products to be ready for Syncing by April 8th, 2024. We'll keep members posted about the actual date as we progress with the brand's boarding to our platform.
…………
About Zwilling
Zwilling was founded in Solingen, Germany in 1731 by Peter Henckels making it one of the oldest brands in the world today. ...Read more of post
Shop Local Saves Adler’s $44,907 and 64 Weeks in LaborWe are pleased to announce that Adler’s, a jewelry and gift store in New Orleans, Louisiana, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. Adler’s saved $44,907 and 64 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to revamp the Gift Registry service they have maintained since their early days.
For over 100 years, Adler's has held its position as the leading jeweler in ...Read more of post
Drive Local: Join Shop Local and Get a Free Tesla 🚗No one likes to pay for gas—just ask Tesla drivers. Chris Kornelis, a reporter for The Wall St. Journal, shares this week how he switched to a Tesla to save $100 a month ($1,200 a year!) on gas.
This story is important to us because if someone will pick a car to save $1,200 a year, we should be able to find what they need to save in order to pick Shop Local’s Online Store. Let’s learn from Chris and his Tesla choice.
Are Price Increases Costing Your Store 6%? 💸In February, brands raised their prices on 9,378 products, producing an average price increase of 6%. If a retailer didn’t make these changes, these price increases would cost their store 6%.
Thankfully, indie stores using Shop Local have the updated price for these 9,378 products. They don’t lose 6%. The stores receive the updated prices instantly via our Syncing service.
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View recent price changes from Syncing partner brands here: ...Read more of post
See You in Atlanta in July 2024We'll be at the AmericasMart show Tuesday, July 16 – Friday, July 19, 2024. We'd love to meet with you and hear about your business.
Are you an existing Shop Local client?
If so, we 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:
1. Explanation Materials
A flyer showing featured Brand Syncing partners. We have 114 partner brands. You'll
Shop Local Saves Breed & Co. $37,435 and 53 Weeks in LaborWe are pleased to announce that Breed & Co., a retail store in Austin, Texas, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. Breed & Co. made the decision to switch from their previous registry provider and recreate their registry program using Shop Local. Since revamping their registry program 3 weeks ago, Breed & Co. has saved $37,435 and 53 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform.
We expect LAFCO products to be ready for Syncing by April 5th, 2024. We'll keep members posted about the actual date as we progress with the brand's boarding to our platform.
…………
About LAFCO
LAFCO (Luxury Articles and Fragrance Company) was created in 1992 by founder and nose, Jon Bresler, and his passion for the European tradition of botanical-based...Read more of post
Cotton Bale Market is a favorite local Home Store and Gift Shop. They offer a wide variety of items for decorating, gift giving, and more. Cotton Bale Market also offers a complete wedding and shower gift registry service that simplifies gift-giving for any special occasion.
Brick and Row Merci Beaucoup is an interior décor and gift store offering a mix of traditional and non-traditional design styles. Located in the building where Natchitoches’ Historic Hotel once was, customers visit Brick and Row Merci Beaucoup to find exclusive gifts, seasonal...Read more of post
The Square Gift Co. Gift Shop Saves $955 and 1 Week in Labor Using Shop LocalWe 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
Jake Gyllenhaal & Ginori Nice to see Jake Gyllenhaal in a Ginori 1735 ad in a recent The New York Times T magazine issue. Ginori 1745 is a Shop Local Syncing partner.
Updated Feature: See Price Changes for Syncing ProductsYour Shop Local Store has an updated feature: We can now more easily view price changes for your Synced products. The Syncing Product Price Changes page shows price changes made by your Syncing brands in the last 30 days.
By default, the Price Changes page is sorted by price change percentage. This helps your store easily identify the biggest price changes among all of your brands.
Your store can also now sort the Price Changes page by date changed. This ...Read more of post
Were you at the Dallas or Atlanta shows? If so, you want to help your stores sell what they just bought from you.
We have a solution to increase your post show re-orders:
As you know, your customers bought from you at the show.
They will return to their shop and be adrift about getting these products on to their website. That hurts your future re-orders.
Let's help them sell what they just bought. Why? This will help them re-
The Persnickety Pig is home to eclectic gifts, antiquities, gourmet foods, and more. They offer a comprehensive wedding and shower gift registry service that takes the stress out of gift-giving for any special occasion.
By joining Shop Local, the store instantly receives great benefits:
Serenite Home Saves $18k Using Shop LocalWe are pleased to announce Serenite Home has joined the Shop Local community of retailers. Serenite Home is a retail store and design studio in Daphne, Alabama. The store owner, Laura Downing, recently relocated her business from California. Her passion for interior design led her to expand her services to include a retail store with home furnishings, gift and tabletop offerings.
Within a very short time, Laura had a live Shop Local Store:
Thanks, Neil ☺️Greetings from Dallas. Good to see our brand partners promoting their Shop Local Syncing service in their showrooms. Here we see Neil Peters, national sales director for Carmel Ceramica, holding a Shop Local display. A merchant can scan the QR code and get all Carmel’s products online instantly.
5 Reasons Laura May Uses the Wholesale ServiceYour Shop Local account offers a built-in solution to shop thousands of products. The Wholesale service combines the best features from wholesale marketplaces and buying on a brand’s site into a new service. Shop Local retailers can save time and money by using the Wholesale service.
The Ivy House, an indie retailer in Texas that has used our e-commerce software since 2015, uses the Wholesale service to save time and money. Laura May, the owner of The...Read more of post
20% Of Consumers To Buy Holiday Gifts at Independent RetailersA recent study conducted by Jungle Scout reports that many consumers prefer to support small and local businesses for their holiday shopping. 20% reported they will buy holiday gifts from indie stores, up from 10% last year. The report ranks independent retailers in 4th place for in-store shopping, surpassing Costco, Walgreen's Best Buy, Sam's Club, Macy's and Home Depot.
The article shares 53% of consumers bought online from independent stores on Small Business...Read more of post
See You in Dallas in January 2024We'll be at the Dallas Market Center show Wednesday, January 10 - Friday, January 12, 2024. We'd love to meet with you and hear about your business and what you're seeing.
Trade Show Materials
We 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:
1. Explanation Materials
A flyer showing featured Brand Syncing partners. We have 115+ partner
RetailDive Reports Online and Mobile Sales are the Winner for Black Friday 2023According to a recent RetailDive report, online and mobile purchases for Black Friday sales were the strongest, with smartphone sales leading at 54% of online sales. The article states consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, according to data from Adobe Analytics. That’s up 7.5% from last year.
Industry experts forecast that consumer spending will be up 2-3% year over year. The National Retail Federation projects 3-4% year over year. ...Read more of post
See You in Atlanta in January 2024We'll be at the AmericasMart show Wednesday, January 17 – Friday, January 19, 2024. We'd love to meet with you and hear about your business and what you're seeing.
Trade Show Materials
We 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:
1. Explanation Materials
A flyer showing featured Brand Syncing partners. We have 115+ partner
Tableware Today: Three Brands Promote Shop LocalWe're happy to see Vista Alegre, Bordallo Pinheiro, and Carmel Ceramica promote the Shop Local platform in Tableware Today's December/January 2024 issue.
In the advertisements, the brands displays our ShopLocal.org logo.
A brand shows the logo so that retailers know they can easily sell the products shown.
When a brand offers our Brand Syncing service, a retailer can instantly display the brand's entire product catalog online.
We expect Christofle products to be ready for Syncing by December 14th, 2023. We'll keep members posted about the actual date as we progress with the brand's boarding to our platform.
…………
About Christofle
Christofle believes The Art of Living is indeed an Art. Taking pleasure in decorating a house, setting a table, sharing the good and the ...Read more of post
Are Price Increases Costing Your Store 9%? 📈In September, brands raised their prices on 910 products, producing an average price increase of 9%. If a retailer didn’t make these changes, these price increases would cost their store 9%.
Thankfully, indie stores using Shop Local have the updated price for these 910 products. They don’t lose 9%. The stores receive the updated prices instantly via our Brand Syncing service.
.................
View recent price changes from 100+ partner brands here: ...Read more of post
A Date With Calendars 📆One of the main problems that businesses have is efficient use of time. A retailer (or brand or sales rep) seeks on a daily basis to manage their time and optimize results. (I was reminded of this while reading a The Wall St. Journal article about time management for the family.) Businesses use a variety of tools to manage and save time, including email, texting, and Zoom.
Shop Local helps businesses in their quest to save time. We offer businesses a ...Read more of post
Porto Brasil Tableware joins our network of 115+ premium brands that Sync products with 1,300+ fine indie stores.
Porto Brasil Tableware is a contemporary company passionate about design. Founded 20 years ago in Porto Ferreira, Brazil, Porto Brasil was the first company in the world to work with digital printing on stoneware. Their stoneware body is ...Read more of post
Tableware Today: Babcock Gifts Shares InspirationMarion Samuel, who manages Babcock Gifts, a Tennessee-based gift shop, pens Tableware Today’s Last Word column in this month’s issue. She shares how they have grown over the last 50 years and run their store.
I was pleased to see her tout the store’s Bridge software. Babcock Gifts, which has been a client for 10 years, uses Bridge’s Shop Local gift registry service and Brand Syncing service. Using our service, they showcase 400+ couples’ ...Read more of post
New Feature: Adjust Price Floors for Your BrandsYour Shop Local Store has a new feature: You can now adjust the price floors for your brands. The price floor feature helps your business avoid making a sale to a general public customer that is not profitable and/or that does not meet minimum reorder amounts from the brand.
Previously, all Syncing Brands had the same price floor level, and all non-Syncing Brands had the same price floor level. With this update, your store can update an individual price floor ...Read more of post
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).
With this update, your store can decide whether or not to charge tax on a product. This is handy, for example, when selling most food online in New York State, where such purchases are tax-empt.
Please follow these steps to access this feature:
Log in to your Shop Local account.
Browse to the product you wish to make tax-exempt.
Ginori 1735 & Kering in The TimesGinori 1735, a client using our Syncing service, was featured in a four-page Kering advertisement in the Times this past weekend. The ad promotes imagination and invites readers to enjoy a film.
We thank Kering and Ginori 1735 for supporting their indie retailers and their imaginations.
The store owner heard about the service from their Ivystone sales rep and signed up online.
In just a few minutes, the store used the Brand Syncing Service to Sync with Casafina. It instantly had data for 955 products to create an online store and gift registry filled for free.
The owner saved $1,000+ in labor on adding products to a website.
New Feature: Performance Statistics PageYour Shop Local Store has a new feature: We've added a new Performance Statistics page to your account. This page makes it easier to access your account's stats.
Previously, this page was titled "How Shop Local is Helping My Business?" Now, the page is titled "My Account's Performance Statistics."
For Retailers, the stats displayed on the Performance Statistics page include:
Zero Sum Networks ⚔️Andrew Chen shares in 'The Cold Start Problem' that many times, networks are competing in a zero-sum game. One network gets a customer to join their network and thereby not participate in another. For example, when a driver used Lyft instead of Uber, Uber, which Chen helped, lost. And it lost in two regards: Uber lost the revenue from the lost ride, and Lyft gained the revenue. Chen’s team was tasked with getting drivers to use all their time driving for Uber and ...Read more of post
Anton Studio Designs joins our network of 115+ premium brands that Sync products with 1,300+ fine indie stores.
Established in London in 2012, Anton Studio Designs aims to provide design conscious customers with stemware and glassware that reflects their own personal flair. They are a sophisticated brand whose products will transform any table setting into an ...Read more of post
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
Villeroy & Boch joins our network of 115+ premium brands that Sync products with 1,300+ fine indie stores.
Since its founding in 1748, Villeroy & Boch has grown into a leading, global, lifestyle brand offering dinnerware, drinkware, flatware, and home decor. They continue to leave lasting impressions all over the world with their fine ...Read more of post
Syncing went from $149/per brand to $0 per brandWe're happy to share that Syncing is free for retailers. Initially, retailers paid $149 per brand per month. Over the years, we reduced the monthly flat fee until we were able to make it free.
We can afford to offer the service with no flat fee because we charge a small commission when an online sale is made. We only get paid when the service performs for the retailer. This ensures that retailers only pay for results. This commission model makes us ...Read more of post
Ricci Argentieri, also known as Ricci Silversmiths, is famous for their flatware and giftware produced in sterling silver, silverplate, goldplate and stainless steel. Ricci is joining in order to support its independent retailers.
Since its founding in 1840, Ricci has grown to become one of the most respected and renowned silversmiths in all of Europe.
Get Reorders for Atlanta & Dallas OrdersWe want to help you sell what you just sold to your retailers at the show. This will then generate more reorders for you.
Below please find materials to help you. Syncing is the quickest way to sell what you just sold and get reorders.
Syncing gets your products online for your retailers instantly.
New Feature: Easily Access a Brand's Fulfillment DetailsYour Shop Local Store has a new feature: you can now more easily access a brand's fulfillment details. The information helps your store more quickly and accurately process and fulfill an order.
Your Order Details page and a brand's Collections page now display fulfillment details for a Syncing brand. The information listed in the 'Fulfillment Details' modal may include:
Pass the Apps 🍡Threads, a new Twitter-like service from Meta, the owner of Instagram, launched this month and almost immediately attracted 40m active daily users. The service’s growth has since stalled and now has just over 10m daily users, but that is still commendable. The Wall Street Journal shared that this impressive launch was largely possible because Meta used its built-in network of one billion Instagram users. This user base helped it overcome the “cold start&rdquo...Read more of post
To Kill a MockingbirdAllbirds 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 ...Read more of post
Are Price Increases Costing Your Store 12%? 📈In June, brands raised their prices on 2,410 products, producing an average price increase of 12%. If a retailer didn’t make these changes, these price increases would cost their store 12%.
Thankfully, indie stores using Shop Local have the updated price for these 2,410 products. They don’t lose 12%. The stores receive the updated prices instantly via our Brand Syncing service.
70% of Brands Offer Free ShippingShop Local analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Shop Local did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading factor when shopping online. 70% of the brands surveyed by Shop Local offer free shipping.
New Feature: More Easily Invite Your RetailersYour Shop Local now makes it easier for you to connect with the retailers that sell your products. We have added a new page to invite your retailers to sync with your brand. This page reduces the number of steps that your brand takes to view unsynced retailers and send sync requests.
The Invite Your Retailers page shows a table with retailers that report selling your brand but that you are not yet synced with it. You can request to sync with more retailers...Read more of post
Sync with KalalouWe 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.
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...Read more of post
Villeroy & Boch, which celebrates its 275th anniversary this year, is joining in order to support its independent retailers,
Since its founding in 1748, Villeroy & Boch has grown into a leading, global, lifestyle brand offering dinnerware, drinkware & barware, flatware and home decor.
JK Adams is known for their beautiful handcrafted wooden items that make baking, food preparation, and presentation effortless. The assortment includes unique products that range from cutting boards, rolling pins, coasters, and charcuterie boards to pot racks.
JK Adams products will be ready for syncing by July 3rd.
Stores that are already Shop Local members will be ...Read more of post
AcquisitionIn Andrew Chen’s book The Cold Start Problem, he breaks the network effect into three parts: engagement, acquisition, and economize. At Shop Local, we rely on the network effect and its three parts. I feel that we’re succeeding in terms of engagement but need improvement in acquisition.
Engagement
We use the 64,000 products in our Syncing service to engage 1,200 our retail clients. We email them new intros, price updates, archived items for these ...Read more of post
Shop Local will give you $250.00 when you mention your Shop Local service in your price list or catalog or on your business card.
Why use this promotion?
Retailers will be buying your products at the summer shows. You can make it pain-free for them to get your product online in seconds using your Syncing service.
FACT: Syncing is the fastest and easiest way to get your products on your stores' websites.
Data, Filters, and Search Walk Into a SoundbarApple announced last month that it's launching a new classical music app. What’s novel about the Apple Music Classical app is how it lets music fans more easily search thousands of variations of the same song. For example, let’s say you want to find a Johann Sebastian Bach song. Over the past 300 years, many musicians have done ‘covers’ of his works, and there are variations by conductor, music, year, etc., thereby producing thousands of ...Read more of post
In the advertisement, the brand displays our ShopLocal.org logo.
A brand shows the logo so that retailers know they can easily sell the products shown. When a brand offers our Brand Syncing service, a retailer can instantly display the ...Read more of post
Syncing Costs a Retailer Less Than a PennyWe do the following seven things for a retailer that Syncs products. The retailer pays $0.00/month because the Syncing brand pays for the service.
We Sync an unlimited number of the brand's products to the retailer's Shop Local Store. The retailer doesn't have to touch Dropbox or Excel.
We give the retailer the ability to download any of the Synced product data (pictures, pricing, etc).
We Got Sole 🩴About 15 years ago, I bought a pair of Crocs sandals in Myrtle Beach, SC. Not only were they hot pink, but the insole was traffic cone orange. My buddies hated them, but oddly others loved them. The sandals were affordable (maybe $20), comfortable, and a conversation starter.
According to last week’s The New York Times' profile on Crocs, I’m one of tens of millions of happy Crocs owners. This happiness is profitable:
Mepra offers cutlery, serveware, and cookware, and is known for its craftsmanship, quality, and innovative design.
We expect Mepra products to be ready for Syncing by June 15th. We'll keep members posted about the actual date as we progress with the brand's boarding to our platform.
Shop Local members interested in opening an account with ...Read more of post
Shop Local’s Syncing service instantly shows new products in a retailer’s Online Store. The service is free for the retailer. The brands pay for the Syncing service.
A medium coffee at McDonald’s is $1.99. When a brand syncs with a retailer on Shop Local, it costs the brand $1.40 per month.
For $1.40, we do these seven things for our brand partner:
We sync an unlimited number of the brand’s products to the retailer's Shop Local Store. All updates, including price changes and new introduction launches, happen in real time. The retailer never has to
New Feature: More Easily Access Key Product ContentYour 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...Read more of post
Sync With Nicolette Mayer I am pleased to announce the Nicolette Mayer Collection is ready to sync products with authorized retailers. If this interests you, please continue reading and I'll share how to sync. Syncing products is free for your business. There is no charge. (The brand pays for this service.)
Nicolette Mayer Collection joins our stable of 112 premium brands that sync products with 1,200+ fine indie stores.
67% of Brands Offer Free ShippingBridge analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Bridge did this because a product's price, which is impacted by discounts, is often the leading factor when shopping online. More than 67% of the brands surveyed by Bridge offer free shipping.
About Nicolette Mayer Collection
Produced by dedicated artisans in America, the Nicolette Mayer Collection offers over 1500 Art de la Table items. Nicolette Mayer is a lifestyle brand whose product categories ...Read more of post
Honoring Our PeersThe 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 ...Read more of post
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.)
New Feature: Easily Access a Brand's Wholesale InformationYour Bridge Shop Local Store has a new feature: you can now more easily access a brand's wholesale information. This wholesale information helps your store more quickly and accurately process an order.
Your brand's Collection page now displays this information:
Wolf & Irving is known for their eco friendly textiles and unique designs for table and kitchen linens. Products range from napkins, tablecloths and runners to mini mitts and tea towels .
Wolf & Irving's products will be ready for syncing by March 1st.
Stores that are already Bridge members will be alerted when Wolf & Irving's ...Read more of post
New Feature: Tour Your Site's Navigation MenuYour Online Store has a new feature: Using blue boxes, we have created a tour to guide you through the software's important navigation features. Taking this tour will help you save time and better utilize your software.
The tour explains these links:
Home Page
Dashboard
Activity
Your Orders
Wholesale
Your Inbox
Account Management
Syncing
Add
Display Mode
Your Profile
Please follow these steps to access the navigation tour:
...Read more of post
I believe these survey results. Shoppers want to shop local, but they don't want to sacrifice selection, price, or speed. Consumers will shop with your indie store if you can offer the same selection, price, and delivery speed ...Read more of post
New Member Targets 🎯When growing our network, we consider what it takes to keep existing members and grow into other industries. Andrew Chen in The Cold Start Problem reports that Facebook famously wanted a user to get 10 friends in a week because then the person would likely use the service. Similarly, Slack said users with about 10 connections tend to become active users. My company currently doesn’t have such new user benchmarks and we need to develop them.
Networks: Let's Tango 💃🏽🕺🏼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...Read more of post
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:
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:
Le Creuset and Herend in Garden & Gun MagazineIn this month’s Garden & Gun magazine, a profile on a Houston merchant shows Herend and Le Creuset products. Herend and Le Creuset are Shop Local clients and use our Product Syncing service to market their products to authorized retailers and their customers.
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.)
“Noma will become a full-time food laboratory, developing new dishes and products for its e-commerce operation, Noma Projects, and the dining rooms will be open only for periodic pop-ups.”
This change supports the breath and power of e-commerce, and portends coming changes for our retail industry. It’s not that one...Read more of post
Congrats to Beatriz Ball, Casafina, LSA, and Barbara Stewart InteriorsThe 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 of post
Networking in Dallas 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 ...Read more of post
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
New Feature: Easily Access Bridge Features with Search ShortcutsYour Bridge has a new feature: We've made it easier to navigate to different pages of your Bridge site with search shortcuts. Searching for a keyword in the gray search bar at the top of your account populates a shortcut button that is linked to a page related to that keyword.
Previously, one would have browsed the site's navigation to find what they wished to view. With this update, one can use the search field to get to the desired content more quickly.
Produced by dedicated artisans in America, the Nicolette Mayer Collection offers over 1500 Art de la Table items. Nicolette Mayer is a lifestyle brand whose product categories include:
Bridge analyzed the websites for the top-40 selling brands in the tabletop and giftware industry. We assessed what promotions and discounts, such free shipping, brands offer. Bridge did this because a product's price, which is impacted by ...Read more of post
What Do the Founding of the Internet and Bridge Have in Common? ...DrawingInternet pioneer, Vint Cerf, made a big break through by drawing it on the back of an envelope in 1983. This story, shared in today’s The Wall Street Journal, hit home because I first drew the concept for Bridge’s Product Syncing solution on a napkin at a Chelsea bar in 2007. That concept now helps 1,100 indie shops sell 60k+ products from 100+ premium brands, including Le Creuset, Baccarat, and Versace. Since that drawing, I’ve become a big fan ...Read more of post
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
Savannah Bee and Ivystone Team Up For National Representation 🐝 🗺️I was happy to learn that our friends at Savannah Bee and Ivystone have expanded their relationship. Savannah Bee, a partner in our Bridge Product Syncing service, has expanded its representation with Ivystone, also a Bridge partner, to cover more sales regions. Ivystone will now cover the honey brand across the country, supplementing the brand with 85 sales reps. (Previously, Ivystone only represented the brand in the Northeast.)
In the advertisement, the brand displays either Bridge’s ‘B’ or Bridge's ShopLocal.org logo.
A brand shows the logo so that retailers know they can easily sell the products shown. When a brand subscribes to Bridge’s Product Syncing service, a ...Read more of post
Reaganomics: Show Me the Money 📝Ronald Reagan said, “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.” Reaganomics usually refers to tax cuts and trickle down economics, yet I propose that we take the Gipper’s quote and ask: How can simplicity contribute to a business's success?
When we share what leading companies do, we can often skip an explanation and sum it up in a brief sentence. Examples:
New Feature: More Easily Invite Your BrandsYour Bridge now makes it easier for you to connect with and sell your brands’ products. We have added a new page to invite brands to sync products. This page significantly reduces the number of steps that your store takes to invite a brand.
There is no charge for a member to send sync invites or sync products with a brand. Product Syncing is free for retailers, sales reps, trade marts, and interior designers. Participating brands pay for ...Read more of post
Gogh Big or Gogh Home 🖼We work hard each day, and likely don’t mind if others notice. We want others to see the ingenuity of our software. But what if that wasn’t the case? If you want an example of someone that got passed by, just ask Van Gogh. Yeah, thaaaaat world-famous, earless, impressionist artist whose work today graces the walls of countless museums. The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is currently running an exhibition showcasing how the world missed ...Read more of post
Winners Quit 🚪🏆In her new book ‘Quit,' Annie Duke shares that the best poker players only play 25% of the hands they are dealt, whereas others play 50%. Ms. Duke talks with Stewart Butterfield, the founder of a few startups, most recently Slack (which is an acronym, which I didn’t know). Slack wouldn’t have been born if Mr. Butterfield didn’t drop a video game company to start Slack. Likewise for Twitter which was born out of the failed blogging company Odeo. Ms...Read more of post
A great deal for retailers: Bridge gives retailers $65k in value for $0 month. Bridge offers approved retailers up to 65,000 products from 109 premium brands for $0 per month. We estimate that each synced product to their online store saves them $1 ...Read more of post
Are We Time Givers or Takers? ⌛️⏳ Scott Galloway, the NYU business professor and firebrand, pens a weekly, attention-grabbing article about business trends. In last week’s post, he noted the rise of the attention economy. (...Yes, my post is an attention-seeker writing about an attention-seeker writing about attention.) Comparing our current economy to those of the past, Mr. Galloway notes that today’s oil is time. He tracks the growth of digital companies like Netflix, Microsoft, ...Read more of post
Vanity 🪞Today’s Gen Z gift registrants want to do everything online, often on their iPhone 14. They want to start a registry, add products, remove products, edit quantities, and view purchases. They don't want to call the store to do this.
In the adoption of digital tools, another trend is also at play: female shoppers are busier than before. Today, more women graduate from college than men. Women are increasingly doctors, CEOs, and world leaders. (...Read more of post
In each advertisement, the brand displays Bridge’s ‘B’ logo. The brands promoting Bridge include:
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Pampa Bay
Vista Alegre
A brand shows the Bridge logo so that retailers will know that they can easily sell the products shown. Since e-commerce makes up 30% of U.S. retail sales, retailers want to carry brands that make ...Read more of post
Store within another storeRetailDive shares that Levi's is opening a shop within a shop in Hudson’s Bay's Vancouver store. We believe in this concept. Bridge offers an online shop-in-shop experience via its Product Syncing service.
Dollars and Sense Advice from Mom 👩🦰When I was a kid, my mom instilled in me a lesson to always get paid for my work. When I went to mow a lawn or do my newspaper route, she’d remind me, “Be sure you get paid.” As an adult, these flashbacks are vivid like a scene from Citizen Kane—just swap out the Rosebud sled with my newspaper delivery bike. Today, this lesson still resonates when running Bridge. When calling a store that hasn’t paid its Bridge bill, I&...Read more of post
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
WSJ: Business cards go digitalAdam Sigel, who heads up sales at Savanna Bee’s indie stores, recently showed me his ‘business card:’ a piece of metal with a QR code on it. I scanned Adam’s QR code and my phone offered to place his contact information in my phone’s address book. This not only saved me time. Behind the scenes, the software allows Adam to see who clicks on his scanned data—one can’t do that with a traditional business card.
We Suck 🪠Last week, Amazon bought iRobot, the company that makes Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner, for $1.7b. Why? Yes, their 'Rosie from the Jetsons' has AI and is in your home (which is where Amazon wants to be), but the reason Amazon wants it is because customers want it. Which leads us to ask: Why do customers want Roomba? Because it does something that humans find annoying and hate doing: cleaning. Roomba has spotted the value that robots bring to the world ...Read more of post
Congrats: 50th Anniversary for the Botanic Garden PatternBotanic Garden, a pattern from the brand Portmeirion, is celebrating its 50th anniversary shares Tableware Today magazine. The pattern, which is based on an 1817 herbal book’s illustrations, was unconventional at the time because it came in unmatching sets. Store buyers feared it wouldn’t sell. Fifty years later, the pattern has sold more than $1b and accounts for about half of Portmeirion’s sales. The company’s daughter created ...Read more of post
We Deliver and InstallI don’t own a car, yet I have a strange desire to read Dan Neil's car column each weekend in The Wall St. Journal. Why would someone who doesn’t own a car, won’t be buying one soon, and hasn’t owned one in 25 years read a car column? It's a mix of enjoying the design and technology of automobiles, wanting to know what Dwayne Johnson may be buying next, loving Dan’s witty writing style, and, confession, simply being 13-years old at...Read more of post
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.
In each advertisement, the brand displays Bridge’s ‘B’ logo in the lower left or right of the page. The brands that promote Bridge include:
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Carmel Ceramica
Pampa Bay
Vista Alegre
The brands show the Bridge logo so that retailers reading the publication will know that they can easily sell the products shown. Since e-...Read more of post
Super Subscriptions 🦸♂️🦸♀️🦹🏽♂️This past week, Amazon announced it was adding Grubhub delivery to its Prime subscription (Read the news about Amazon and Grubhub here). The goal of Amazon Prime (and other subscription services) is to make the subscription so pervasive that it's sticky. Don’t like Prime movies? Ok, but you love free Grubhub delivery. If you don’t need feature X and want to cancel, you realize you still need feature Y and keep paying for the subscription.
$200 Off Your Atlanta OrderBridge has teamed up with 23 premium brands to offer an exciting promotion. A retailer can place an order at the Atlanta show and get $200 off its wholesale order. The store will receive a free Bridge account. The account will contain the products the store ordered. With this solution, a store can quickly promote and sell what it just bought at the show. The store's Bridge account will also contain other products that the brand offers. With this ...Read more of post
Adam Sigel from Savannah BeeNice to see Adam Sigel from Savannah Bee at the Dallas show. Adam treated me and visitors to chocolate ice cream with a drizzle of spicy Savannah Bee honey. Delicious! Thank you! 🍨🐝🌶
Messermeister backpack in action with my chef friendHappy to see my buddy, who just opened his first restaurant in Dallas. using a Messermeister backpack. Messermeister is a Product Syncing brand on Bridge. Messermeister uses the service to instantly share its product line online with its indie retailers.
Bridge has teamed up with four brands to offer an exciting promotion. Stores can place an order at the Dallas or Atlanta shows and get $200 off their wholesale order. The store will receive a free Bridge account. The account will contain the products the store ordered. With this solution, a store can quickly promote and sell what it just bought at the show. The Bridge account will also contain other products that the brand offers. With ...Read more of post
Optimizing 🦾We’ve chatted about the importance of checklists. Checklists can be checklists literally as well as figuratively (i.e. software). Checklists help us order our thoughts and actions. Yet, the last step on each checklist should be: removing as many checklist steps as possible. This ironic strategy is necessary because steps inherently are friction, and friction is our enemy. We want to help our clients avoid the drag of clicks and thinking.
Jerry Chazen, Who Helped Create Store-within-a-store Concept, PassesWhen I explain Bridge's Product Syncing service, I sometimes compare the service to the store-within-a-store concept at the mall. I didn't know that Jerry Chazen, who helped found Liz Claiborne, pioneered that concept in the 1980s. Thank you, Jerry.
Gorham Apartments in NYCWhile walking down Broadway last weekend, I discovered this plaque regarding Gorham, a producer of fine metalware and flatware. The plaque shares that Gorham was located in this first-ever mixed-use building built in 1883. Notably, Gorham is still producing beautiful products today and is a member of Bridge's Product Syncing service. Ironically, the brand's modern-day showroom was just seven blocks away until very recently. (This building is at 19th St. and Broadway and ...Read more of post
In each advertisement, the brand displays Bridge’s ‘B’ logo in the lower left or right of the page. The brands that promote Bridge include:
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Carmel Ceramica
Pampa Bay
Vista Alegre
The brands show the Bridge logo so that retailers reading the publication will know that they can easily sell the products shown. Since e-commerce...Read more of post
Checklists Can Help Save Lives and Main Street ✅ In a 2007 article in The New Yorker, Atul Gawande, a surgeon and an author, advocatedthat more hospitals use checklists. He cited many medical studies showing how checklists save lives (and money). Implementing one checklist, a hospital "…prevented forty-three infections and eight deaths, and saved two million dollars in costs." The startling part: the list was only five steps long! In other words, people don&...Read more of post
142 of our retailers are using a sales program called Bridge. A store uses Bridge to more easily sell our products. I think Bridge would be a good fit for your business, too. I’m writing to invite you to join us on Bridge.
Bonus: Join us on Bridge by next Friday, May 6th, and Skyros Designs will give you a $200 shopping credit with us.
Join Casafina Living On Bridge / Get $200We are pleased to participate in a promotion with Casafina Living. Please find the letter that Matt Hullfish, National Sales Director, shared with his retailers below.
Thank you,
Jason
..............
Dear Friends and Family of Casafina,
272 of our retailers are using a sales program called Bridge. A store uses Bridge to more easily sell our products. I think Bridge would be a good fit for your business, too. I’m writing to invite you to ...Read more of post
D’Argenta features an assortment of home décor from luxury to everyday products that are hand-made by artisans in Mexico. Each unique piece will dazzle your guests and make your home an art museum. Crafted of precious metals, silver, gold, and copper, each piece compliments every room, every season, and every day.
D’Argenta now shares 462 products in 5 collections via Bridge. Please ...Read more of post
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.
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.
“Estimates of an often-cited retail metric known as customer acquisition costs range from $100 to more than $800 per customer, said Daniel McCarthy, a professor at Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business, who has done extensive research in the field.”
Physical retail is one of the most expensive ways to acquire ...Read more of post
Hospitality 🍽Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, a software company valued at $28 billion, was recently interviewed in the Wall St. Journal. When he shared who his advisors are, I was surprised to see Danny Meyer, the restaurant kingpin who owns Shake Shack (another publicly-traded company). Mr. Lawson read Mr. Meyer’s book “Setting the Table” and was impressed to learn about the difference between service and hospitality. Service is the delivery of the...Read more of post
Your Product PassOur job at Bridge is fighting for indie stores. A key indicator of our success is when we give your store more online orders. An important step in giving you more orders is: giving you more products online.
Good news: you have the Product Pass. This grants your business the power to sync with unlimited Product Syncing brands for free. This is the best way to fill your website with products.
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
In each advertisement, the brand displays Bridge’s ‘B’ logo in the lower left or right of the page. The brands that promote Bridge include:
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Carmel Ceramica
Pampa Bay
Vista Alegre
The brands show the Bridge logo so that retailers reading the publication will know that they can easily sell the products shown. Since e-commerce...Read more of post
Brands Helping Their Stores and ThemselvesHow are brands helping their stores--and themselves? They are telling retailers that Bridge is a sales solution for them. For example, Pampa Bay doubled its sales vs. last year on the Bridge platform. One way Pampa Bay increased its sales is by consistently promoting its Bridge service across various mediums. When one visits the Pampa Bay site, one can see the platforms the brand uses in the upper right-hand corner. We can see the brand uses Facebook, Instagram, ...Read more of post
9 Ways Your Bridge Is Different Than Other Online StoresThere 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
What's In a Brand Name™️?I recently saw an advertisement for Windows 11 in Wired magazine. I thought: “Wow, finally something from Microsoft that someone can understand: a logical name for their software offering.” I recall a time when Microsoft had a confusing litany of software names including: NT, 98, 2000, Millennium (ME), Windows XP, and Vista--before finally relegating those clumsy names to the desktop recycle bin and adopting a simple, progressive number system. ...Read more of post
Let's Make E-Commerce FunMost 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
WSJ: Retailers move faster to update shelf pricesToday’s Wall St. Journal reports on the need by retailers to quickly update prices due to inflationary pressures. We agree: Bridge has been offering an instant price update service to retailers for their websites for 14 years. On a daily basis, our Product Syncing service helps Kate Spade, Baccarat, Le Creuset, and 100 premium brands update prices for 60,000 products on 930 stores’ websites.
Success Story: The Menagerie in Texas Is Showing 24K Products OnlineThe Menagerie, a fine jewelry & gift store in Texas, recently reached out to Bridge to find a gift registry solution for their business. Within minutes, the store had over 24,000+ items available online using our Product Syncing service. Customers and registrants can shop for these products. Additionally, Google will rank the store higher. The store saved months of web development time and thousands of dollars in labor.
In each advertisement, the brand displays Bridge’s ‘B’ logo in the lower left or right of the page. The brands that promote Bridge include:
Badash
Bordhallo Pinheiro
Carmel Ceramica
Pampa Bay
The brands show the Bridge logo so that retailers reading the publication will know that they can easily sell the products shown. Since e-commerce ...Read more of post
HFN: Atlanta Market Presents the Newest in Tabletop...and 45% Use BridgeWhen HFN magazine shared new introductions from the Atlanta show, Bridge was happy to see that five out of the 11 brands featured (45%) are Bridge partner brands. Why is this important? Retailers using Bridge will immediately display these new introductions in their Bridge Stores without any work or money spent. This technology allows the retailers to more quickly market and sell these products.
Brands featured in the article that are Bridge partner brands ...Read more of post
‘Seal’ the DealWhen a retailer wants to pick a line to carry, it often wants to carry a brand that is easy to work with. When a store sees the Bridge decal, it knows the brand is easy to sell. In this example, a store knows that Teakhaus is easy to sell because it’s a Bridge product syncing brand. This means that all of the brand’s products will sync to an authorized retailer’s online store. Kitchen 2 Table, the owner of the showroom shown, offers a wide variety of ...Read more of post
Do We Need to Drop Dropbox?Relying on file-sharing services like Dropbox to sell products often costs stores an extra $750 per brand and hurts sales
I work with 900 retailers who tell me they are drowning in a sea of Dropbox folders containing Excel files and product images. What can we do about this? First, let’s review what’s happening: When a brand wants to share products with a store, it emails the store a link from Dropbox or a similar file-sharing service. A store may receive ...Read more of post
Platforms 👠When I was 24-years old, a market research company sent me to Philadelphia to survey potential users about a new offering from General Electric Finance. Your first question may be: "Wait, Jason was once 24?" Your second may be: "GE had a consumer finance arm?" Yes, and yes. GE was once a conglomerate with its hands in many industries, from television to nuclear reactors to jet engines. GE, like Toshiba and Johnson & Johnson, has since shrunk. But ...Read more of post
Bitsy signed up SheaLeigh's, a gift and home goods shop in Alabama. Within a few minutes, the retailer had a live Bridge Store with 15,800+ products. Customers and registrants can shop for these products. Additionally, Google will rank the store higher due to these products. The store saved months of web development time and thousands of dollars in labor.
Bridge Welcomes Le CreusetWe are pleased to announce that Le Creuset has joined Bridge and the Smart Products program.
Founded in 1925, Le Creuset is a favorite in premium cookware. Le Creuset revolutionized cooking almost a century ago with the very first colorful cast iron. The empowering joy their vibrant cookware first brought into kitchens is now shared from generation to generation, in kitchens and around tables all over the world.
Bridge Welcomes Golden RabbitWe are pleased to announce that Golden Rabbit has joined Bridge and the Smart Products program.
Golden Rabbit is a leading manufacturer of enamelware dinnerware, kitchenware, and cookware. From oven to table to dishwasher, Golden Rabbit Enamelware is fully functional without forgetting the fun.
Golden Rabbit and its 678 products are ready for syncing.
Founded in 1981 by Bernd Dressler, Messermeister is a leading manufacturer of premium handcrafted chef's knives, kitchen cutlery, and cooking tools -- the go-to brand for everyone, from professional chefs to at-home cooks. Women-owned & California-based.
Messermeister and its 433 products are ready for syncing.
New Feature: More Easily See How Your Products Are PerformingBrands share their products with stores via the Smart Products marketing platform. Wouldn't it be helpful to see how those products are performing? Now you can. We added a new feature to help Smart Brands see how their products are performing. When a Smart Brand partner browses to a product in its Bridge account, it will now see a 'Product Performance' area. If you use Instagram, this feature may feel familiar. Instagram lets you view performance statistics ...Read more of post
Pat signed up Canterbury Court, a gift and antique shop in Texas. By just spending a few minutes, the retailer has a live Bridge Store with 1,800+ products. Customers and brides-to-be can shop these products. Google will rank the store higher due to these products. The store saved months of web development time and thousands of dollars in labor.
Since 1975, Woodard & Charles has been a leading importer of responsibly produced and environmentally sound salad bowls, a wide collection of casual entertaining items, and popular mesh food Domes.
Woodard & Charles and its 46 products are ready for syncing.
Fissler is renowned for its award-winning cookware, Made in Germany. Fissler is the perfect culinary equipment for cooks who value uncompromising quality, attractive design, and superior functionality. The line includes premium-quality stainless steel cookware collections — pure-profi® and original-profi®, superior non-stick pans — levital® and ...Read more of post
We have updated your 'Join Us On Bridge' page. The page now outputs how much time and money a store will save by joining you on Bridge.
In the example shown, we see Juliska's Join Bridge page. The page shares that a store would normally spend $518 to add Juliska's products to its website and pay $130 over the course of a year to maintain those products. Using Bridge and the Smart Products service, the store can save this ...Read more of post
Capucine De Wulf Jewelry Joins BridgeWe’re happy to announce that Capucine De Wulf Jewelry, from the creator of Juliska, is joining Bridge and the Smart Products program.
Capucine De Wulf creates jewelry that makes a woman feel and look fabulous through symbolic designs laden with meaning in marvelous materials at accessible price points.
Capucine De Wulf Jewelry and its 101 products are ready for syncing.
MyRegistry.com ReviewPart of my job is to review registry software. I ensure that it works well for retailers, registrants, and gift-givers (family and friends). I also assess whether it offers good value (price vs results).
A retailer recently shared with me that it uses the service MyRegistry.com. I reviewed the retailer's site and how a customer would make a registry purchase via MyRegistry.com. For privacy purposes, I changed the name of the store in the screenshots shown....Read more of post
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
Success Story: Material PossessionsMaterial 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 (...Read more of post
Halcyon Days Partners with Bridge
English luxury lifestyle brand joins the e-commerce community to support U.S. retailer base
March 30, 2020
New York, NY — Halcyon Days, a designer of English handcrafted and manufactured luxury goods, has joined an online sales platform to help its authorized retailers ...Read more of post
Good news: Retailers can now sync with an unlimited number of Smart Brands for $28.
Details: + A retailer just needs to subscribe to a Bridge plan that is $28 or more per month. If you pay $28/month or more for Bridge service, your business qualifies. + If you are a retailer that is paying less than $28/month, you can sync with up to 10 Smart Brands.
Benefits of syncing with Smart Brands: + Save time and money. Let brands maintain products for you. + Sell more. Retailers ...Read more of post
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Indie Retailers Get Sales Boost from Product Syncing Service
Sales increases ranged from roughly 4.5 percent for brands such as Arte Italica and Spode to more than 13.5 percent for Beatriz Ball and Vietri
January 2, 2018, Allison Zisko
NEW YORK—Main Street retailers are benefitting from a tabletop product-syncing service offered by Bridge, an e-commerce platform that includes file sharing...Read more of post
Indie Stores Report Double-Digit Growth in 2017 by Sharing Products
Forty-two brick and mortar Main Street retailers that participated in Bridge’s annual survey said their sales grew up to 50% for a brand by using Bridge’s product-syncing service.
"I do about 20% more business a year by being a part of the Bridge network,” said Mary Beth Wood, owner of the Crystal Plate in Gainesville, Georgia, and a user of the Bridge software. "It ...Read more of post
Are you ready for 2018? We’re getting ready here. We’re beefing up our staff and hardware to serve the rush to shop online. In 2017, orders via the network grew 89% year over year. 2018 will bring another 89% growth spurt if we work hard.
In 2018, you may ask: are your stores worth 48¢? We think so ;) We’ll explain more below.
1. Bridge is updating its pricing for brands in 2018.
What are we doing with this subscription fee that brands pay? We’re reinvesting it into your...Read more of post
Bridge is updating its pricing for brands in 2018. Are your stores worth 20¢? We think so ;)
..............................
This year, sales on Bridge have grown 89% to $12M.
But the fight has just begun. In order to help independent retailers keep up the fight against Amazon, Bridge is updating its pricing for brands in 2018. We'll be reinvesting these fees into new features for you and your retailers.
1. In 2018, you’ll see:
A. More orders for your products. We’re launching...Read more of post
I got a kick out of this AM's WSJ about companies fibbing their age to appear more hip. I've often tried to pen when Bridge as we know it came about. In 2007, I created Bridge's Smart Product syncing service. (We started with a whopping 8 brands and 2 retailers using this service! Today we have 120 brands and 260 retailers sharing products via syncing.) In 2011, we created the template store and gift registry that today 95% of clients use to sell products and host gift ...Read more of post
Walk inside the mind of the designer: shown here is Alvar Aalto's house--the famous Iittala designer--in Helsinki. Thanks to my dear friend Meliza Weir for sharing these pics from Helsinki.
Iittala, which just joined Bridge as a Smart Brand this month, should be ready for syncing in June. :)
We are super excited to announce our newest Smart brand, Badash Crystal is now available for syncing. Now everyone can #OwnSomethingBeautiful. Welcome to the family.
We're pleased to announce out newest Smart Brand is ready for syncing. Available at Neiman Marcus and other independent retailers, B By Brandie is not your grandmother's china. Read more about the company here:
With a love of entertaining and a passion for design, Brandie Gehan created B by Brandie. The legacy of sophisticated, high-quality home accessories offered by the brand comes from Brandie’s own upbringing. Her vision was inspired by the glamorous dinner parties ...Read more of post
We're happy to share that Michael Aram is now a Smart Brand.
We expect the Michael Aram data to be ready by September.
Benefits of syncing: + Quickly show lots of Michael Aram items to your customers. + Better serve your customers and in particular your bridal customers.
Benefits of syncing: + Quickly show lots of beautiful Olivia Riegel items to your customers. + Better serve your customers and in particular your bridal customers.
If you wish to sync, please login to your Bridge and...Read more of post
Many store owners ask me "Should my store sync its POS system with its website?" Some stores have already synced the two and are proud that their website has the same content as in their store.
My answer: syncing a store's POS and its website is not currently a good idea.
Reason: POS systems are not meant to power websites.
When retailers enter data into their POS, they often just enter this data for products: 1. UPC 2. SKU 3. Retail price 4. Product name (this often contains ...Read more of post
What does Bridge have in common with Hulu and HBO? Answer: Bridge also offers a streaming service for just a few bucks a month. The difference is that unlike TV streaming services, Bridge makes you money.
Bridge Plans: + One Brand Plan: Bridge Store, Gift Registry, ability for the retailer to add all the items it wants from any brand, and syncing products with one Bridge brand: $8
+ Boutique Plan: Everything above and syncing with up to 15 Bridge brands: $59
There was some confusion recently, and I wanted to clarify it.
The Bridge is a service by the Solarek Studio (not a brand or distributor) that syncs data from another site to yours.
Solarek invented and maintains the syncing.
The brands/distributors do not receive financial compensation for the Bridge. (They benefit from having all of their product available online on your site.)