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