Unique-to-Hamilton tool connects local businesses and customers in time of uncertainty
Published March 31, 2020 at 7:23 pm
Hamilton’s small business community is taking a massive hit with all of the current COVID-19 restrictions on residents and businesses across the country.
Hamilton’s small business community is taking a massive hit with all of the current COVID-19 restrictions on residents and businesses across the country.
Many are trying to find ways to keep their head above water as the threat of this virus is likely to keep people confined in their homes and businesses closed for weeks — possibly months — to come.
The City of Hamilton’s Economic Development Department, in partnership with several local organizations, came up with a platform to allow smaller enterprises who rely on foot traffic a way to offer their goods and services.
Hamilton’s Hometown Hub brings local shops, restaurants, and eventually, some services, to the comfort of Hamiltonians’ homes.
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“We needed to do something to help businesses,” said Norm Schleehahn, Director of Hamilton’s Economic Development Department. “And we knew it had to be a digital solution.”
The result is a sleek and easy-to-use platform that offers consumers direct access to local vendors.
The City turned to Hamilton Rising, the innovative marketing group behind the city’s Shop Local video campaign this past Christmas that featured a Guy Smiley-type puppet indulging in all that Hamilton has to offer.
Schleehahn said the teams at Hamilton Rising and Shop Eat Play, with the help of Hamilton’s BIAs worked round the clock over basically a weekend to develop the platform and get it up and running.
“It was a big community effort to get it off the ground,” he told InTheHammer. “It’s truly amazing how people and businesses are responding.”
The site launched on Friday (March 27) and features a number of local restaurants, including Charred, The Burnt Tongue, Crumbled, Gown and Gavel, among others. Retail shops include True Hamiltonian, Mixed Media, The Pale Blue Dot and so many more. Hamiltonians can also arrange to have some of the city’s craft brewers deliver their brews right to their door.
More shops and restaurants are being added every day and Schleehahn says the next step for the site could be a streaming service where local businesses like dance or karate studios could offer classes online.
“It’s like a parallel economy for those brick-and-mortar businesses who rely on foot traffic,” he said. “People were looking for alternatives and this is a nice way to give them that.”
While the businesses featured on the Hub offer delivery or no-contact pick-ups, if you’re looking for ways to support local businesses but completely eliminate the potential for any kind of contact, you can also purchase digital gift certificates through the Hub.
For businesses that don’t normally have gift certificates, the Hub has you covered: Shop Eat Play will get those businesses up and running with one for free.
“There’s no cost to merchants,” Schleehahn explained. “Just go to the [Hub] website and sign up.”
It’s too early to tell just how the community is responding to the initiative, Schleehahn said, but the response from businesses has been appreciative. Already, since getting up online a few days ago, the Hub features more than 100 local businesses and counting.
For businesses struggling to come to grips with this new reality that COVID-19 has forced on them, Schleehahn wants them to know that while the offices at City Hall are closed, everyone in the Economic Development Department is still working, albeit remotely, to help any way they can.
“Give us a call if you need help understanding all the information and resources out there,” he said. “We’re still here to help. We want to help.”
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