Anita Williard bought Very Richmond Gallery and Gifts shop in 2006. (Photos by Mark Robinson)
A local retailer is getting a much-needed upgrade to compete in the world of e-commerce.
Very Richmond Gallery and Gifts this month beat out four other Richmond shops in a contest for a free online store from local IT company Petrofy. The company sponsored a competition on its Bedrock Shops webpage that allowed users to vote for one of five businesses. Very Richmond won with 102 votes.
Anita Williard, the store’s owner, bought the 18-year-old business in 2006 and inherited a website she called “adequate.”
The store at 1051 E. Cary St.
Very Richmond is in the James Center at 1051 E. Cary St. It sells home goods, arts, crafts and souvenirs to locals and out-of-towners who stay at the nearby Omni Hotel, Williard said.
“There’s only a really small representation of what we have in the store on the website now,” Williard said. “We want to keep it fresh.”
Four other businesses vied for votes in the contest: Carytown’s Chop Suey Books, Alchemists Books & Gifts in Stony Point Fashion Park, Midlothian-based Buffy’s Goodies and Pieces Boutique & Consignment in the Fan.
Once launched, Very Richmond’s new website will be able to feature 1,000 products, according to Kris Spisak, president of Petrofy. The package also includes Google analytics, review and rating systems, PayPal integration and an onsite introduction to the ins and outs of the system.
It all adds up to about a $1,900 value, Spisak said.
Petrofy works mainly with large and medium-sized businesses, Spisak said, but the four-year-old company recently developed its Bedrock Shops e-commerce packages to help smaller businesses expand their online presence.
“There is such a push these days to buy local, but we’re realizing that local businesses need more than the brick and mortar store,” Spisak said.
Spisak said the new site should launch within months.
Anita Williard bought Very Richmond Gallery and Gifts shop in 2006. (Photos by Mark Robinson)
A local retailer is getting a much-needed upgrade to compete in the world of e-commerce.
Very Richmond Gallery and Gifts this month beat out four other Richmond shops in a contest for a free online store from local IT company Petrofy. The company sponsored a competition on its Bedrock Shops webpage that allowed users to vote for one of five businesses. Very Richmond won with 102 votes.
Anita Williard, the store’s owner, bought the 18-year-old business in 2006 and inherited a website she called “adequate.”
The store at 1051 E. Cary St.
Very Richmond is in the James Center at 1051 E. Cary St. It sells home goods, arts, crafts and souvenirs to locals and out-of-towners who stay at the nearby Omni Hotel, Williard said.
“There’s only a really small representation of what we have in the store on the website now,” Williard said. “We want to keep it fresh.”
Four other businesses vied for votes in the contest: Carytown’s Chop Suey Books, Alchemists Books & Gifts in Stony Point Fashion Park, Midlothian-based Buffy’s Goodies and Pieces Boutique & Consignment in the Fan.
Once launched, Very Richmond’s new website will be able to feature 1,000 products, according to Kris Spisak, president of Petrofy. The package also includes Google analytics, review and rating systems, PayPal integration and an onsite introduction to the ins and outs of the system.
It all adds up to about a $1,900 value, Spisak said.
Petrofy works mainly with large and medium-sized businesses, Spisak said, but the four-year-old company recently developed its Bedrock Shops e-commerce packages to help smaller businesses expand their online presence.
“There is such a push these days to buy local, but we’re realizing that local businesses need more than the brick and mortar store,” Spisak said.
Spisak said the new site should launch within months.