Shop Sonoma Mall opens
Sonoma Index Tribune, November 6th, 2009

Sonoma Valley residents have a new and easier way to shop locally, starting today, with opening of the Shop Sonoma Mall,
shopsonoma.net, featuring more than 15 local stores offering easy access to their products any time of the day or night.
The
new exclusively Sonoma mall is "virtual," an online mall open 24/7,
within a click or two of any resident with access to the Internet. They
just go to
shopsonoma.net.
The online shopping mall was conceived, developed and launched by The
Sonoma Index-Tribune's new Sonoma Creative Services division in
partnership with WildFireWeb Inc. owner and Sonoma resident Blaine
Transue.
"You
can shop tonight after work, tomorrow morning in your pajamas with a
cup of coffee in your hand, or on your lunch break. All you need to do
is click on
shopsonoma.net," said
Bill Lynch, publisher of the Index-Tribune. "Sonoma Valley merchants
have a lot to offer local residents and we wanted to create an easy way
for them to shop locally at their convenience. It also saves time and
gas and helps support local businesses," Lynch added. "It should also
be noted that this is an 'all-Sonoma' digital product. Even Blaine,
whose business is located in Petaluma, is a Sonoma resident."
More
than 15 local businesses have signed leases for the new mall, and more
are being added every week. The stores currently open in the Shop
Sonoma Mall include: The Toy Shop, Eminent Design, Baskin-Robbins,
Sonoma Market, South American Secrets, Eraldi's Men's Wear, Barking
Dog, Sonoma Beauty Supply, Wildfire Web, Sonoma Magazine, plus the
"Consignment Corridor" group of stores that includes Sisters, Plain
Jane's and Vignette.
Other stores set to open soon in the mall
include: Sonoma Valley Cyclery, Fleurtique, Vita Bella, plus local
retailers in the hardware and lumber business, jewelry and
communications and electronics. There will also be restaurants added as
part of an online food court."We expect to have more than 20 stores
open in the Shop Sonoma Mall before Thanksgiving, and even more than
that before Christmas," Lynch added.Each store in the mall is offering items for the shopping and browsing
pleasure of local residents. Some of the stores are equipped with full
shopping cart software, which allows shoppers to make and pay for a
purchase online. Other stores offer a means for shoppers to identify an
item and send an e-mail (or make a phone call) and either ask questions
about it, or request that it be reserved for their closer inspection at
the actual store the following day. The storeowners will assist online
shoppers in making their purchase and pick up of their merchandise at
the shopper's convenience.
"One
of the many great things about this local virtual mall is that there
are no shipping costs involved. That is a significant savings to people
who like to shop on line, but also have to pay for the shipping. With
the Shop Sonoma Mall, they can just stop by the store and pick up their
purchase." Lynch said.
The Shop Sonoma Mall, which is also linked directly to
sonomanews.com,
the I-T's very popular local news Web site, is unique among online
shopping sites in that it is exclusively for Sonoma Valley businesses
and residents and especially designed to give locally owned,
independent businesses a low-cost way to compete with the giant
companies who dominate the Web. "We built the Shop Sonoma Mall as part
of the over all Shop Sonoma campaign we co-sponsor with the Sonoma
Valley Chamber of Commerce and Sonoma Valley Visitors Bureau. Our goal
is to increase the awareness of local residents of the benefits and
savings of shopping locally," Lynch said.
Local businesses that wish to open a store on the new local mall are urged to contact Ryan Lynch,
ryan@sonomanews.com, or Scott Miller,
scott@sonomanews.com,
at Sonoma Creative Services. Mall store leases are $149 a month (for
six months). For more information about WildFireWeb Inc., go to
wildfireweb.com or call 789-0769.
http://sonomanews.com/articles/2009/11/05/news/doc4af38b12cb3cb469160291.txt