marketplace builder

Storbie Launches Four New Online Shopping Marketplaces

Storbie is committed to developing the most loved ecommerce platform in the world. Unique to Storbie is the ability to create online marketplaces that connect numerous individual online stores and their products together but still allow shoppers to connect with individual brands and help businesses sell more. In this way, the Storbie online store and marketplace builder doesn’t leave retailers standing on their own in the world of ecommerce. Storbie enables businesses to optionally cluster together into marketplaces – under a common cause, category or geographic brand for example – to maximise their discovery, customer loyalty and business growth.

Storbie is showcasing this marketplace functionality by launching four new online marketplaces that are designed to include a wide range of online stores and their products. Shoppers can enjoy browsing across thousands of products in each marketplace and are then directed to individual online stores to make any purchases. Each of the four marketplaces are running launch campaigns with some awesome products on offer, check them out! (more…)

GoRetail: The positive impact of a collaborative shop local initiative [Video]

GoRetail is a collaborative programme of strategies to keep the Gore CBD strong and ensure Gore remains a great place to do business.

The initiative certainly has the town talking. Watch the video to see the positive impact GoRetail is having towards making Gore the most commercially resilient provincial town in New Zealand. (more…)

Hamilton City retail

Why Hamilton Wants To Get More Local Products In Front Of More Digitally Connected Consumers

Storbie is passionate about people finding and buying local products and services. In our Shop Local article series, we talk to retailers, town centre managers and passionate people about what makes their local area unique and how they’re spreading the word within and beyond their community.

Taking Advantage of Purchasing Behaviour Trends To Encourage Shopping Locally

Consumers want to purchase locally-made goods and support local businesses, and they are doing more and more product research online and on-the-go before stepping in store to purchase. These are two trends that business associations can take advantage of in their marketing, says Sandy Turner, General Manager of the Hamilton Central Business Association (HCBA). Turner says digital channels are a vital way to get these products in front of consumers and influence buyer behaviour. She explains how HCBA’s marketing efforts combine digital and traditional methods and why the new Hamilton Central online marketplace website is a key part of the Hamilton digital strategy.

A common perception is that online is just a sales channel that detracts from brick-and-mortar sales, however research shows that digital interactions in fact have a huge influence on in store sales (called web-influenced sales) and buying behaviour. (more…)

The Storbie Online Marketplace Builder: Be Different Together

All standalone Storbie online stores will soon be supported by a growing network of marketplaces. Anyone will be able to create a marketplace to collectively promote individual brands, and any business will be able to join existing marketplaces to increase online exposure and sales. With Storbie, you can be different, together.

Online retail mirroring the physical world

In physical retail, competing or complementary businesses often band together in a cluster to increase the value, exposure and sales of their individual brands. The best of these clusters become brands in their own right. This could be a retail precinct, like Wellington’s quirky Cuba Street, for example.

wellington-cubast

At Storbie we realise that standing out from the crowd, gaining exposure and increasing sales in the online world can be even more challenging. So why not bring the idea of clusters online? With the Storbie marketplace builder, you can. (more…)

Introducing The Storbie Market: Over 100,000 Products Available to Purchase In One Place

The Storbie Market has over 100,000 products that are available to purchase from Storbie stores throughout New Zealand, all in a single location. You’ll find perfume and cosmetics from Big Bucket Deals, jewellery from The Village Goldsmith, designer clothing from Carlson, merchandise from WWF New Zealand and so much more in the Market.

You’ll find unique and innovative products from online stores, big and small. The Market is intended as a way to help our customers succeed with their online store and encourage more people to live out the dream of owning their own business and selling online. Whereas other online store builders leave you to fend for yourself, with Storbie your products can feature in the Storbie Market, exposing them to more customers from the get-go.

The Market also encourages everyone to support their fellow online store owners and purchase within the Storbie community. Next time you’re looking for a gift for someone or maybe just something for yourself, search the Storbie Market and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see what you can find! (more…)

Storbie Featured In The Waikato Times: Hamilton Central Marketplace Could Change City Retail

Credit: Narelle Henson, The Waikato Times

Hamilton will be the first city in New Zealand with an “online CBD” and we’re excited to be the team developing it! Check out the article in The Waikato Times featuring our new brand, Storbie. (more…)

New Zealand’s First Community Ecommerce Initiative to Launch as Part of Hamilton CBD Revitalisation Strategy

Storbie is on board to accelerate retail success in Hamilton, by developing New Zealand’s first community ecommerce initiative for the Hamilton CBD. The initiative will launch in October this year, as part of an overall strategy to revitalise the city centre.

Working with Hamilton Central Business Association, the city’s Business Improvement District which represents the 1,200 businesses and property owners in the Hamilton CBD, Storbie will redevelop the current Hamilton Central website into a Hamilton Central Marketplace. This online marketplace will allow all CBD businesses to be visible online in what is much more than just a directory site, with products and services from all the different businesses able to surface together in a single location.

(more…)

Goodbye Smallfish… Hello Storbie! Find out everything you need to know about our rebrand

Hi, Shane here, Smallfish Founder and CEO

Remember back in February when I sent a message out talking about what a monumental year 2015 was going to be? I mentioned some aggressive expansion plans for Smallfish and while I didn’t go into any further detail back then, I’m pleased to say that I can spill all the beans now. If you joined Smallfish post-February, well then you picked a good time! Everyone in the Smallfish team have been working extremely hard to take our product to the next stage of its life, build upon our platform to better it for our existing and future customers and further realise the overarching vision of Smallfish — the growth of a global network of shops and shop clusters that are intrinsically connected yet all unique. We are nearing a tremendously important milestone in our work. I’m excited to announce that very soon Smallfish will be formally transitioning our brand, our product, our company name and all of our efforts to Storbie. (more…)