In today’s day and age, there isn’t be a single person who hasn’t heard of eBay. What people may not know about them however is that they’ve started a small business initiative called Retail Revival, which is a program dedicated to helping small businesses utilize e-commerce to grow revenue, gain exposure, and impact positively their community.
Baton Rouge is in eBay’s sights as a possible city to continue their program, and we’d be lucky to have them! As a Mid City Merchants board member, it was my absolute pleasure to show Sharon McBride, Senior Director, External Affairs and Public Policy at eBay and Chris Librie, Head of Global Impact & Giving at eBay, some of the awesome shops Baton Rouge has to offer in the Mid City area.
We’re a strong community full of one-of-a-kind entrepreneurs and makers and it was our task to show eBay the possibilities and potential Baton Rouge has to be the next perfect city for their program. If chosen, Baton Rouge would be in the public spotlight of eBay’s global following through their small business initiative, Retail Revival, which harnesses the power of technology and eBay’s global marketplace to support and grow small businesses, strengthen local economies and foster vibrant community growth.
Their concept, Stay Local, Sell Global is music to my ears as a proud merchant in our Mid City Arts and Cultural District. Retail Revival’s goal is to enable local businesses to sell globally through new sales channels and revenue streams. Retailers and other small businesses alike can showcase their unique inventory to the world through eBay’s global marketplace. The Retail Revival program offers local, brick-and-mortar businesses and budding ecommerce artisans/makers 12 months of e-commerce training as well as access to special tools to boost their reach and revenue, including on-board assistance, ongoing training, dedicated customer service, and promotional support.
We would be so lucky to have eBay put Baton Rouge—our city that has so much potential to stand proudly alongside creative icons like Austin and Nashville— on the map. Retail Revival would be a beam of light aimed directly at our great city, and would strengthen our community in the process, for which, if chosen, we’d be forever grateful.