ShopTalk: Discover Shopcastr and Win Contest!

By: Grayson Miller

A topic I’ve thought about a lot, is the world of small retail and social media. I’ve often wondered how small business with limited manpower can stay viable in a forever-morphing social media landscape. Furthermore, I’ve wondered how social media will change the way customers shop offline. And then, I discovered Shopcastr.

If you’ve never heard of Shopcastr, it’s about time you do.  Shopcastr.com is an online application that allows consumers to browse products of local retailers. It gives the consumer the ability to “window shop online” and get “x-ray vision into a shop.” I truly believe Shopcastr fills a hole that was missing in the online retail space. Not every retailer (especially small ones) has the ability to showcase their product effectively online. Shopcastr solves this problem by providing retailers with an easy-to-use online application. Retailers can now post their products on Shopcastr’s online marketplace, and consumers get a “one-stop aggregated shop” of their favourite local stores, the website has become a curated shopping mecca. Founder Matt O’Leary says “[on Shopcastr] you can browse all this beautiful content, and you can actually go to a [local] store and buy it.” This is the idea that I think is game changing, as I believe that there is still a fairly substantial group of people who prefer not to buy online. However, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t searching or browsing online. Shopcastr serves this customer;   it allows the consumer to browse (like a seasoned online shopper) and if they see something they like, they aren’t forced to purchase it online  – they can go into a local shop and buy it.

What if you do want to buy  online? Well, Shopcastr can serve you too. Not only is this great for customers that actually just want to buy online, but it is huge for retailers. Founder Judy Sims says it best: “a lot of retailers want to do e-commerce, they want to sell online, but it’s too hard for them to do it. It requires a lot of inventory management, shipping is a nightmare…. Even if the retailer actually goes through that effort, consumers don’t know the retailer’s websites exist so they don’t get any online audience. Unless you know the store is there, and you think to go home and look for it on the internet, you are very unlikely to ever buy something online from them. We have actually solved all these problems for the retailer. We have figured out a way to make inventory control really easy. We have made shipping a no brainer option for the retailer… we built it for retailers, and consumers get this massive benefit of all these products that have never been available before. Try to find good vintage online, Shopcastr has it!”

The team at Shopcastr comprising of founders : Matt O’Leary, Judy Sims and Aron Jones, developer Jason Peddle and Director of Marketing Lu Curran absolutely love what they do. They know the retailers’  full story, they are connected to  the community and they are helping local retailers “fend off the  ’Amazons’  of the world”.

The future of Shopcastr is strong. They plan on being in multiple cities nationally, and have plans to launch Shopcastr south of the border. “In a few weeks,  shipping will be across Canada. Someone in Vancouver will be able to shop stores from Toronto, and hopefully people in Toronto will want to shop stores in Vancouver!” With so much happening at this small Toronto startup, Shopcastr is definitely a business you will want to keep your eye on as they change the way consumers shop and help local retailers while doing it.

Discover Shopcastr and WIN Contest! We will pick a winner everyday for the next 20 days! Each winner will receive a $10 credit to use on Shopcastr.

To enter the contest:

Head over to the  Shopcastr.com and browse the awesome collection of local retailers.

Once you have found something you like tweet using the URL of the product you like and give a shout out to @Styledemocracy and @Shopcastr and use #buynow. Here’s what the Tweet should look like:

I would buy http://shopcastr.com/bicycletteboutique/high-neck-floral-tan/17501 @shopcastr @styledemocracy #buynow Pls RT 4 a chance to win!

Note: Your entry must Look exactly as the tweet above (except use a link you’ve found!)

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