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Recent coverage of ShopKelowna.com on Shaw TV |
The Kelowna
area is home to more than 7,500 businesses, most of which are locally owned and
operated 'independent' businesses.
These independent businesses are
the backbone of our Kelowna Economy.
We built ShopKelowna.com to support and promote these local businesses with the principle of the 'local multiplier effect' in mind. The Local Multiplier Effect refers to the increased wealth creation that occurs when money is spent locally and re-circulates within the local economy.
The trend for many consumers has been to shop at big box stores or online at Amazon, but unfortunately, these shopping choices actually hurt Kelowna by taking money out our local economy.
To reverse
this trend, and keep more money in Kelowna, we've developed a local online directory and marketplace featuring
great local businesses and the products and services they offer.
About TJ & Lindsay, owners, ShopKelowna.com
TJ & Lindsay live in Kelowna, where TJ was born and raised, with their two young children.
The Papps have always been huge supporters of local independent businesses, having both grown up with entrepreneurial parents. It was natural for TJ & Lindsay to evolve into careers servicing and promoting local businesses.
For years, TJ worked in sales in the construction industry, getting to know many area contractors and tradespeople. Lindsay has spent more than a decade working as a marketing consultant for Kelowna radio stations.
In 2014, TJ & Lindsay made the leap to becoming business owners when they had the opportunity to buy ShopKelowna.com and launch a shop local campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of shopping locally while providing consumers and businesses with tools to connect online.
For Shoppers
ShopKelowna.com is accessible from both computers and smart phones via a mobile
version.
When you're researching online for the specific products and services you want, ShopKelowna.com is the perfect place to find the information you need.
The ShopKelowna.com community marketplace
enables you to buy products online for in-store pick-up or delivery, find
coupons and deals, read and write reviews, purchase online gift
certificates, view restaurant menus, find out when businesses are open and how
they can be paid, as well as contact business owners via email.
There are also helpful links to businesses' websites and social media profiles.
For Businesses
Local
independent business owners, even with limited
marketing budgets, can now present and promote their products and
services
online using our comprehensive local marketing platform.
This platform optimizes participating businesses' content so it will be found when people are searching locally and makes it easy for shoppers to take action, whether that's buying online or sending an inquiry through email..
Now business owners can
deliver consistent messaging to their website and social media platforms as
well, with one-stop updating through their ShopKelowna.com business control panel.
We give local business owners the
ability to level the playing field with the biggest of companies.
As you can imagine, all of these features offer both businesses and consumers tons of value, but the real power of ShopKelowna.com is the offline community marketing campaign that involves hundreds of businesses displaying signs and stickers reminding people to shop locally at ShopKelowna.com
By coming
together with a common message that also drives people to a web destination
where they can take action, ShopKelowna.com harnesses the collective power of the
local business community to give independents a voice that's even louder than
the big corporate brands that are taking money out of Kelowna.
Local
independent businesses generally keep more of the money spent with them, within
the community than corporate chains (45%
for independent vs. 15% for chains), therefore, shopping with local
businesses leads to a much stronger local economy.
This benefits everyone in the community as a strong local economy creates more jobs and provides funding for local initiatives like parks and recreation, services and infrastructure, health and education.
What You Can Do to Help...
There are
several easy steps you can take to help us build up the community and support
local businesses:
- Use ShopKelowna.com as often as possible to learn what products and services are available locally
- Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ShopKelowna
- Make informed purchases and consider the total impact
of your spending, not just the price you pay
- Encourage great local business owners to keep going by posting reviews on their profile pages
- Buy our local online gift certificates instead of plastic gift cards from big box stores
- Frequent locally-owned restaurants and shops instead of the national chains
- Shop locally first whenever you can
We can
always use more help spreading the word, and we greatly appreciate those who
help convey the message by putting up signs and stickers or by linking to us
online.
Click here to request free stickers or a badge for your website.
ShopKelowna.com
is part of the ShopLocally.com Network, and is based on the successful local model developed
with ShopMidland.com, serving the community of Midland, Ontario.
The network is leading the shop local movement.
We invite you to join almost 50,000 shop local fans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shoplocally
The trend toward shopping “locally” is catching on, both online and offline, and we encourage you to be a part of it. For additional reading on the subject, check out The Small-Mart Revolution, a groundbreaking book that makes a strong case for local independent business and provides a road map for restoring our local economies.
Thank you for
taking the time to read about ShopKelowna.com. We are passionate about building
up Kelowna and love to connect with like-minded individuals. Feel free
to use the comments below to let us know about things you're doing to spread
the word about shopping locally or to make Kelowna a stronger, more vibrant
community.
Sincerely,
TJ & Lindsay Papp
Owners & City Managers
ShopKelowna.com
