The 27-Point Checklist to Prepare Your Store for Black Friday Cyber Monday

This year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) will be unlike any other. Fears around COVID-19 and subsequent retail closures have shifted consumer spending online and away from brick-and-mortar—a shift Shopify believes will continue well into the holiday season and beyond.

If you want to make the most of this year’s biggest shopping event, it’s critical that you start planning as early as possible. Despite an atypical climate, BFCM is still a tremendous opportunity for your business to end the year strong, whatever that looks like for you.

How to Shift Your Brick-and-Mortar Business to eCommerce

While much of the population is staying home in recent months, businesses are adapting in new ways to connect with and serve their customers. While the change to eCommerce can be a big change, there are a number of steps you can take to ease the transition. Here’s how to get started bringing your brick-and-mortar business online.

Rethink ready: How to prepare your business for what’s next

2020 has been a year unlike any other. A pandemic that upended daily life and routines. Worldwide economic disruption. Universal uncertainty about exactly what comes next. We’re all traveling in truly uncharted territory.

The traditional idea of what it means to be ready for what comes next — including the familiar playbooks and proven approaches so many businesses relied on in the past — that’s grown outdated, in the space of just a few months.

ShopHERE continues to help small businesses and artists in Ontario engage customers online!

We're excited to announce our upcoming "Small Business Stories" panel on Tuesday, October 13th from 6:30pm-7:30pm. Hosted by ShopHERE powered by Google, join us for an engaging discussion with local small businesses and artisans who have graduated from our ShopHERE program. Topics of discussion will include challenges, wins and the power of going online. Click here to reserve your free ticket.

Register Now...

Thunder Bay’s Mars Clothing Co. sees a paradigm shift in digital mindset

Sales are down for Thunder Bay’s Mars Clothing Co. and the world is still living through a global pandemic, but all things considered, store owner James Nigro is feeling pretty good. The Mars Clothing Co. owner says he’s always been big into technology and websites, but the current scenario has set him up nicely to merge that interest with what he’s been doing over the last nine years through his clothing shop. And part of that is a change in attitudes surrounding online shopping.

Read the story here...

 More Updates From HQ

Why Your Business Needs An Online Store: Webinar

 Sept 30, 11:30am  Online

ShopHERE powered by Google provides independent small businesses and artists with a quick, easy and no-cost way to get selling online right away. In this webinar you will get the answers to the top questions we’ve received about the ShopHERE program

Register Now

Small Business Websites 101: Online Webinar

 Oct 6, 7:00pm  Online

There is a great deal to consider when you’re building a new website or redesigning an existing one. This beginner workshop covers everything you need to know, from choosing and registering a domain name, to building the website itself, to making sure it’s secure.

Register Now

This year retailers and marketeers are facing fundamental challenges, if not existential threats. DX3 pulse brings thought leaders in retail and marketing together to discuss the future of the industry, help people navigate these troubled waters, and share hope and hopefully provide clarity.

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 Regional Events Across Ontario with Camp Tech + OBIAA

Digital Main Street is a program created and run by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Area's (TABIA), in partnership with direct support from the City of Toronto that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and our Digital Service Squad, a team of street-level team members who help main street businesses grow and manage their operations through technology.