NEWS RELEASE
HEYLOCAL
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HeyLocal, an ecommerce marketplace helping local businesses reach more customers while providing Canadian consumers with an easy way to shop local, is excited to announce its platform has begun scaling across Ontario and Canada.
HeyLocal will officially be implemented across the City of Barrie and the larger Simcoe County region after being named the successful applicant of the Xcelerate Summit’s challenge in search of a virtual marketplace.
To further HeyLocal’s expansion into Canadian city-wide markets, the company announced today that it has been selected as a finalist for Montreal’s non-profit association Société de développement commercial de Wellington’s (SDC Wellington) recent call for a solution to help its local business community increase its visibility while making it easier for consumers to shop local online.
This expansion will see approximately 500 additional local businesses onboarded to HeyLocal as a result of being implemented within Simcoe County and Montreal alone in the coming months, as the platform works to help small businesses and municipalities across Canada with their recovery efforts.
Since launching as a pilot project across Waterloo Region and Guelph at the beginning of June, HeyLocal has successfully onboarded 100+ merchants to its online marketplace.
“We have been moved by the stories we’ve heard from local small businesses looking for ways to rebuild during these challenging times,” said Erin Martin, co-founder of HeyLocal. “It has been really exciting to see our local businesses, entrepreneurs and artists embrace HeyLocal. The platform builds on the rich and diverse talent that we have here in our backyard, and will be instrumental in the economic recovery of our communities.”
So far, clothing boutiques and apparel makers, restaurants, brewers, growers, coffee roasters and artists have launched on the platform that is simple to integrate within existing Shopify stores. Onboarded local, regional businesses include Lady Glaze Doughnuts, Arabella Park, Fallowfield Kids, WaterLoot, Phidon Pens, The Girl Floral, Reids Chocolate, Block Three Brewing Company, Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters, Legacy Greens, Wayward Farm and Four All Ice Cream.
“COVID-19 has challenged a lot of small businesses to pivot and create or expand their online presence,” said Ajoa Mintah, founder of Four All Ice Cream, the popular all-natural, locally sourced ice cream shop serving Waterloo Region. “HeyLocal allows Four All to present our products to a wider audience beyond our brick and mortar store and current online store, which is vital for our continued growth.”
“We have been a brick-and-mortar store for almost 12 years and had to pivot to ecommerce when we closed our doors on March 15 due to COVID-19. It has been an exciting time for us as we explore new ways to run our business while bringing the same value to our customers online as we do in store,” said Mano Duggal, co-owner of Phidon Pens, a specialty stationery store located in Cambridge, Ontario. “Small businesses are so vital to the health of our communities — they are places that consumers visit not just for the product/service, but for the experience too. We have to let as many people as possible know that we are here, and HeyLocal is an incredible tool for helping us do that.”
“Our business thrives on the connections we make, on the community we build. When HeyLocal was brought to us, we were transitioning to an ecommerce business model. Last season, our main income was a community market that we hosted in our local neighbourhood, but with the pandemic, we quickly had to make a shift online,” said Brie Pointer, co-owner of Wayward Farm, a small-scale market farm in Ayr, Ont. “HeyLocal gives us the opportunity to build an online community and stand beside other local and respected businesses to sell our produce. It has allowed us to expand our reach to new customers in Waterloo Region while continuing our mission to feed good food to good people. After all, we are rooted in community.”
Small businesses already set up online can get started on HeyLocal by linking their current Shopify account with the integration. Dedicated to further assisting small businesses without an ecommerce account, HeyLocal offers a solution for all business owners through its alignment with the ShopHERE program and partnerships with various platforms such as Sociavore and Local Line. With plans to support additional platforms in the coming weeks while also providing an opportunity for service-oriented businesses to launch on the marketplace, HeyLocal is committed to helping as many local businesses as possible with ease and convenience.
The platform has no hidden processing or storage fees, and is being offered for free to the first 50 thousand businesses who sign up to ensure small businesses can reach, connect, amplify and promote their offerings with a sustainable solution.
For more information on HeyLocal, including sign up information for local merchants, please visit www.heylocal.ca.
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