We're Celebrating Our Online Shop's First Anniversary!
On March 24th, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of our online shop going live. We still look back and think, how were we able to build an online shop, that included hundreds of unique resale items, in just one week? The story of our online shop isn’t just about technical achievements though. For us, creating and maintaining our virtual store is also part of our story of resilience and community. It represents our dedication, as a cooperative, to the delivery of our programs, and to the health of our community. We are so grateful for all of you who have visited our online shop and supported us with this new way of shopping with us. Thanks for getting us to this milestone!
So, how did we create the shop in just one week? On March 17th, in response to the pandemic, we knew we had to undertake a dramatic change to our business model to move to an online sales format. We quickly switched gears! Step one was the creation of a 'Dig It' Team! Together, we developed clear and robust health and safety procedures to ensure our teams’ safety. With these firmly in place, the team worked bravely and enthusiastically, to carefully choose each and every item for our site, photograph and describe it, price it, and prep it ready for sale. Within one week, there was a massive and collaborative shift that took place, and soon everyone was sharing their online shop ideas, doing research, honing their technical and photography skills, and digging in to finding the best ways to present our amazing donated stock in this new format. Within a week, we had over 500 items ready to upload! On the back end, tireless work was done to design and build the new website, create and upload the content, and trouble shoot, so that the site could launch as soon as possible. At the same time, we developed an appointment system to allow for safe, contactless and outdoor pick-up of the lovingly purchased items.
Our community of supporters was there, even from day one, shopping and becoming repeat customers, as well as spreading the word. We hoped that the site was offering a fun and worthwhile distraction while staying home and offered a new way to shop WIN from the comfort of your own home. We did hear from many folks that while we were closed, they went through some thrifting withdrawal, and that they were happy to have this new way to enjoy shopping thrift. It was also our aim that our customers could access affordable goods that they needed when things were shut down. We have found, as the shop has evolved, that this platform also allows us to showcase some very special items, everything from fine art to high end jewelry.
Our online shop has become a significant part of our business model in combination with our fantastic physical shops. We are excited that, in so many ways, and under some very challenging circumstances, this has been a successful addition for our Coop. We are so proud of the incredible team of people who have made this come to life, as well as the heartwarming support that we have received from our community!