Supporting local has never been such a hot topic! Yay for us!!! High-fives all around! But it hasn’t been an easy endeavor for small business or for local shoppers over the past 15 months.
When the stay-home safety orders came into effect, the public shifted their money-spending habits to online from-home shopping… I can just see Amazon and Walmart tobogganing in giant piles of cash. And our small local businesses who generally rely on markets and foot traffic were simply not prepared. Adding an ecommerce site to any business can be very expensive and/or time consuming to set up, plus without the proper marketing they don’t get the traffic.
Okazon Marketplace is an offspring of Do The Okanagan! We built a platform for all local brands, boutiques, products and services to be offered in one centralized online store which is easy to find and use by the shopper. We’ve made it possible to purchase from several vendors in one order and we teamed up with a local husband and wife team courier service ATN Distribution to tote shipments up and down the Valley.
After 6 months of successful business, Okazon grew from an infant to an awkward pre-teen and was ready for all sorts of change. We are super excited to announce that Ammi Dirks and Jodie Neumeyer of West Kelowna are the brand new owners of Okazon Marketplace! They have big plans and we cannot be more grateful to have found or been found by such amazing people who share our passion for local!
Do The Okanagan will continue to promote, support, collaborate and work with Okazon Marketplace. We cannot wait to watch it grow!
If you are a local Vendor and would like to get your products or services on Okazon Marketplace HEAD HERE for more information.
With passion, love and excitement,
Saffron and the DTO team
