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JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that they’ve launched a new online marketplace where consumers can conveniently shop for products and services from small, locally owned businesses across Chautauqua County.
Chamber President and CEO Todd Tranum says that ShopLocalCHQ.com features a wide variety of local businesses and their products and services, with more being added every day.
Officials say Americans are expected to spend more on eCommerce this holiday season than ever before. Barron’s predicts an 80% increase in eCommerce sales over 2019. During a Zoom conference with reporters, Tranum explained how that makes it more important than ever for small businesses to be able to sell online and to reach existing customers, while also expanding their customer reach.
“ShopLocalCHQ is our community’s response to other online platforms that, frankly, are taking sales opportunities away from our local economy,” Tranum said. “We’re fighting back to keep these sales local. But to do that, we have to empower our local businesses and our consumers to be part of that fight against the large online corporations, and really that’s what we’re doing through ShopLocalCHQ.”
“A core focus of the Chamber has always been to drive traffic to local businesses,” Tranum added. “Now we have another tool to drive sales to our Chamber members online. It is especially important this holiday season as we encourage consumers to Shop Safe. Shop Small. Shop Local. Consumers can shop and support small local businesses either in person or online. It’s the best of both worlds for both our small businesses and the consumer.”
New businesses and products are being added to the ShopLocalCHQ marketplace daily. Any Chamber member business is welcome to participate. The service is included as part of a Chamber investment.
Businesses that would like to be added may contact Jonathan Weston, Director of Member Marketing at jweston@chautauquachamber.org visit the Chamber website at chautauquachamber.org/shoplocalchq or visit ShopLocalCHQ.com and click “Start Selling” to get registered.
To help launch this new program, the Chamber of Commerce is giving away $500 in Chamber gift cards that can be used either on the online marketplace or in more than 150 physical businesses right here in Chautauqua County. Visit the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page to enter the contest. No purchase is required.
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