There are a variety of new solutions and services available to help small- and medium-sized businesses keep pace with their far larger counterparts.
In the following Editor Q&A, RTP team members share insights on the services and solutions they believe are most valuable to independent merchants.
Debbie Hauss, Editor-In-Chief: The community aspect of new commerce models is helping a lot of people get their small businesses off the ground and eventually show impressive growth. Airbnb comes to mind as a hugely successful business that helps individual consumers market their properties to other consumers for short-term visitations. Another company, Threadless, brings artists together to choose designs that may be marketable as the foundation for consumer products, such as t-shirts. Other businesses allow shoppers to rent expensive apparel items or wedding gowns for a one-off event.
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Alicia Fiorletta, Senior Editor: I’ve always appreciated Etsy’s business model because it empowers entrepreneurs / small businesses to directly engage and market to consumers. Now, the company is expanding with Etsy Wholesale, a new service designed to match local and independent designers with small merchants. In a nutshell, it helps Etsy sellers ramp up their business even more, from their digital storefront on the Etsy site and app, to independent retailers. I believe facilitating this kind of relationship is mutually beneficial for both parties. The service just came out of beta, so time will only tell whether it is a success.
Kim Zimmermann, Managing Editor: I think a model like Wool and the Gang works well, as they tap into a group of knitters around the world who design, hand knit and sell the retailer’s collection online. Users can buy completed items or “Knit Kits,” so consumers can create their own pieces.I could see this working in other environments, such as jewelry.
Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor: I like Deliv’s local crowdsourced model and what it does for same day delivery. While Amazon has expanded their same-day delivery model in the past week, their product model is still limited considering Deliv has set up partnerships with retailers and malls. These partnerships position the company as the friend that Amazon could never be, and is a welcome solution in an era where more people demand fast shipping that isn’t costly. The fairly cheap pricing of the model ($5 per transaction, for an unlimited number of packages) certainly is an eyeopener, and it will be interesting to see how long that price holds.
Brian Anderson, Associate Editor: There are several reasons why successful independent businesses are important, but one of the biggest – in my opinion – is their success’ positive effect on the economy. There’s an pro-local organization called the 3/50 Project, which aims to shine the spotlight on local independent businesses throughout the U.S., Canada and various other locations throughout the world by offering free marketing materials to independent business partners. If half the employed population spent $50 per month in local independent businesses, it would generate roughly $42.6 billion in revenue – with half of it returning to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. That’s definitely a difference.
Samantha Polak, Editorial Intern: I think an up-and-coming service that independent businesses can benefit from is a subscription box service. Much like an independent retailer partnering with a brick-and-mortar store, subscription services allow SMBs to reach customers that are familiar with the box service, but maybe not the independent company itself. By associating with bigger, well-known brands such as Birchbox, SMBs get their name out to a wider array of consumers. With subscription services, shoppers do not have to go out and seek out new brands — they are delivered right to their doorstep, giving independent businesses more exposure and consumers more opportunities to discover them.
