The ShopCity local shopping platform helps consumers find, research and
purchase what they're looking for without leaving the community or
turning to big box retailers.
Shoppers
receive a number of features that make it faster, more
convenient and more engaging to shop locally and support local
businesses, including:
- Reviews
- A community marketplace that allows shoppers to buy online from multiple merchants
- A powerful business search engine
- A comprehensive business directory
- A homepage news feed
- A map showing where businesses, products & services are located
- A shopping list manager
- A project tendering system to request quotes from local businesses
- Gift certificates that can be purchased from home, 24/7
- A local gift registry
- And more
The tools, features and services offered in this system are based on the real
world marketplace so that they facilitate the commercial activities
buyers and sellers are already engaging in 'offline'.
Designed specifically for local small businesses
There are many tools for small businesses to use for general
internet marketing, some of which work very well. However, most marketing systems are overly complex, or worse, they don't 'talk to
each other'. This means that businesses must remember different
passwords, learn different systems, or figure out how to copy the content they need
between programs (which might not be possible or could result in double
data entry).
The ShopCity Community Commerce Platform incorporates all of the tools
businesses need to succeed online, including a shopping cart, gift
certificates, coupons, email marketing and more, all in a single
easy-to-use interface with one password.
And because this system was designed to meet the needs
of local businesses, which have a very specific, geographically-focused
customer base that usually researches online and buys offline, it excels at driving in-store traffic as well as online results.
What's included?
The business control panel provides small businesses with the following tools:
- Local marketplace to sell products and services
- Online gift certificates with email delivery and online tracking
- Coupon manager
- Online catalog and virtual storefront
- Business profile manager - hours, contact info, payment methods, etc.
- Review manager
- Inquiry manager
- Real-time traffic statistics
- Photo gallery
- Newsletter & press release manager
- Event calendar
- Web page publisher
- File manager
- Web tools - to add it all to your own custom website as well
- And more!
This
comprehensive suite of tools enables businesses to take complete
control of their marketing activities and start connecting directly
with their local market, leading to better customer relationships and
ultimately increased sales and decreased marketing expenses.