Ribbon Cutting Celebrates ShopOCMainStreets.com Launch
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 3, 2023)
Oakland County, MI – Ten Main Street Oakland County communities are collaborating to help their downtown small businesses gain e-commerce capabilities with the launch of ShopOCMainStreets.com, the first website of its kind in Michigan. This platform allows shoppers to complete e-commerce transactions securely with one checkout process. Nearly 70 downtown businesses have already loaded their products to the new site.
A ribbon cutting was held in Downtown Rochester to celebrate the launch, with people from each community gathered to check out the new site and help spread the word. Participating communities are Franklin, Highland, Holly, Lake Orion, Oak Park, Ortonville, Oxford, Pontiac, Rochester and South Lyon.
Visitors to ShopOCMainstreets.com can search for apparel and accessories, bath and beauty, books, collectibles and antiques, food and beverage, health and wellness, home and garden, pet supplies and more. Some of the Main Street organizations also have a shop on the site, with items celebrating local pride. Small businesses already selling online can add the marketplace as an additional selling channel. Businesses with a Shopify or Square website can sync and integrate their shops.
“Coming out of the COVID pandemic, we all knew that our downtown businesses needed to expand into e-commerce,” said Kristi Trevarrow, executive director for Downtown Rochester. “Being part of Main Street Oakland County and the national network that provides, we were connected to Member Marketplace, Inc. They build and maintain the website, provide technical support to the participating small businesses, and help customers visiting the site.”
Mrs. Michigan Kelly Westbrook did double-duty at the event, representing both the state and the community of Oxford, where she serves as DDA Director. “The participating MSOC communities’ downtown businesses will be able to affordably sell online through one website —marketing together as a localized group,” she said.
Tameka Ramsey has been working with business owners in Pontiac to get them added to the site. “We know that this country was built by small businesses and we need to continue to invest in supporting them,” she said.
In a previous story, Oakland County Times talked to entrepreneurs Tylisa Gober of Barbie Behavior Boutique in Oak Park and Kevin and Bonnie West of Roses of Silverbell in Downtown Lake Orion about their hopes for the site. “We need to have a mix of in person sales and online sales. This will help find the right balance,” Gober said.
Check out the new site at http://www.shopocmainstreets.com.
