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Fayetteville, GA, shoppers can support various businesses at a new Black-owned shopping plaza. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Kingdom Corners is the brainchild of married couple Felicia and Winchel Elibert. The duo had previously ventured into entrepreneurship, owning a range of businesses, including a Smoothie King franchise, multiple Winchell’s Barbershops, and a location of Felicia’s Cleansing Waters Wellness Center. “Right across from our Smoothie King and Cleansing Waters location in Fayetteville, there was a sign that said land for sale,” Felicia told 95.5 WSB. “We made a phone call to ask about the land, which was at a good price. We checked with our realtor and were encouraged that this was a really good investment.” The four-acre plaza took three to four years to complete. When it was completed, it made history in the city as the first Black-owned shopping plaza. “We have been getting phone calls, texts, and folks stopping by—just to say what an inspiration we are in the...
We’ve all left a grocery store and saw someone pushing a shopping cart. One group pushes the shopping cart into cart corrals or marches over to the store employee who is collecting carts in the area. The other group pushes the shopping cart far enough away from them to be able to back their car out of the parking space and drive away. The latter group couldn’t care less whether the wind moves that cart along, denting someone else’s car, running over someone’s foot or causing a car accident by an unsuspecting driver. They’ve gotten what they needed, and they’re going about their day. In their mind, it’s the store employee’s problem to fix the shopping cart havoc. Observers watching this person are often participating in the shopping cart theory , judging those who don’t return carts as vigilantes who don’t care about others. How Does The Shopping Cart Theory Relate To A Business Owner Or Employee? The shopping cart theory is often brought up with the phrase, “If no one was looking.”...
Google has convened at one of the yearly hot spots for art and thoughtful conversations. To celebrate Art Basel/Miami Art Week 2024, Dec. 2 – 8, many are gathering in Miami, FL, to view the works of artists from all over the world. Kicking it off on Monday, Dec. 2, ELLE Magazine Editor-At-Large Hassan Pierre; Senior Director, Global Consumer Marketing, Commerce at Google, Stephanie Horton; and journalist Lola Ogunnaike hosted an intimate conversation with multidisciplinary artist Derrick Adams, in celebration of the week, and his partnership with Google Shopping at the Matador Room inside The Miami Beach EDITION hotel. Photo Credit: Matteo Prandoni / BFA.com | Editor Credit: Brendon Cook / BFA.com | L-R: Hassan Pierre, Stephanie Horton, Lola Ogunnaike, Derrick Adams Also in attendance were artist Mickalene Thomas; interior designer Sasha Bikoff; Carmen Busquets (founder of Net a Porter); Jasmine Wahi (founder of Project for Empty Space); and broadcast journalist Cari Champion, among...
Couple Felicia and Winchel Elibert are helping Black-owned businesses create wealth. According to 95.5 WSB, the pair are behind a four-acre Fayetteville, GA shopping plaza that will be home to several businesses. Winchel already owned multiple barbershops, while Felicia worked as a nurse and is the founder of several Cleansing Waters Wellness Center locations. WSB-TV Atlanta News mention that the Eliberts also owned a Smoothie King for several years. Entering new territory with the plaza was a “journey” that began with a sign located across from their Smoothie King. “Right across from our Smoothie King and Cleansing Waters location in Fayetteville, there was a sign that said land for sale,” Felicia told 95.5 WSB. “We made a phone call to ask about the land, which was at a good price. We checked with our realtor and were encourage that this was a really good investment.” For three to four years, the couple worked to develop the idea for the shopping center, which was ultimately named...
Telfar is about to bless fans with what seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! On Sunday (Sept. 11), the iconic bag brand will partner with a Rainbow clothing store in Brooklyn to equip its avid supporters with a one-day shopping extravaganza, according to an Instagram post. It will be the first time that Telfar’s famous “Shopping Bag” will be available for purchase in all sizes and colors. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @telfarglobal
While developer Meka Knepley is married to Pete Knepley, Principal Programmer at Epic Games — one of the creators of Fortnite Battle Royale — she set out on her own, looking for a way to improve the world during the height of the pandemic. As the world witnessed massive shutdowns disproportionately impacting small businesses, Knepley conjured an idea to develop a frictionless shopping experience to connect consumers with businesses. ReUp is a byproduct of Knepley’s efforts and the platform welcomes brands and shoppers to join its growing community. “I was talking to my friends, like ‘How can I make the difference?’ Some of my friends were like, ‘I’m going to go on protest’… ‘I’m going to write a paper about it’…and with me, I was like ‘I need to help people.’ ‘How can I help the community?’ And then I felt like, you can’t get to Maslow’s Hierarchy if you’re still worried about your job. So, if we can get you to a higher platform where you have your own business and you’re...
In this pandemic economy, stretching a dollar as far as it can go is key. The mission of Wish, a worldwide mobile e-commerce marketplace, is to help people do that by enabling merchants around the world to sell products at prices generated for the value-conscious consumer. More than 500,000 merchants sell around 1.7 million products a day directly to 60 million monthly active users. And they sell everything from household goods to clothing and gadgets. Available in more than 60 countries, the Wish app provides an innovative, discovery-based mobile shopping experience that’s highly visual, entertaining and personalized so each user can find things they didn’t even know they needed. Merchants can benefit by selling outside their countries and accessing a range of data and business tools to increase sales. And the reason the mobile shopping mall can provide such an experience for both consumers and merchants is because Wis h empowers its team to share thoughts and ideas that can help...
Twitter is set to launch its very own primetime shopping show! According to TechCrunch, the social media app will test out its live shopping format for the first time ever featuring products from Walmart with host, Jason Derulo. Customers will have the chance to watch the livestream while simultaneously checking out any products as they are mentioned. Set to launch just ahead of Cyber Week, Twitter’s first-ever shoppable livestream is an effort to continue to expand its e-commerce initiatives. It will also further Walmart’s commitment to live shopping events via social media platforms, which also include TikTok and YouTube. “On November 28, Walmart will kick off a Cyber Deals live event on Twitter, where users will be able to watch a live broadcast, shop the featured products, and join the conversation around the event by posting tweets,” TechCrunch reports. Hosted by musician-turned-creator, Jason Derulo, the event will include him introducing the audience to deals in apparel,...
Support for Black-owned businesses exploded last summer amid the mass Black Lives Matter protests, which seemingly turned entire industries upside down. The demand for more visibility for these businesses has also seen an uptick from consumers on the e-commerce world. According to Google, over the last 12 months search interest for “black owned businesses” has skyrocketed 600% based on Google Trends data. To support this influx of consumers looking to buy Black, Google Shopping has extended its new feature specifically designed to help shoppers easily identify and buy from Black-owned businesses via Google. Google Shopping refers to the newly-updated feature as the “Black-owned attribute” which Black business owners can use by visiting the Google Merchant Help Center. The feature will become available to all Google shoppers and applicable U.S. Google Merchants in the coming months. GIF credit: Google According to a blog announcement, Google added this new update to accompany the...
Amid the explosion of engaging, entertaining videos on social media during quarantine, Instagram introduced a new visual feature to its platform to rival its competitor, TikTok. Now it’s proving to be a fruitful asset to Black-owned businesses who have set up shop on the app. With many people sheltered-in-place, online shopping saw a huge uptick in traffic prompting many shop owners to turn their attention toward their online stories and digital platforms to incorporate shopping-friendly features in their content. Back in November of last year, Instagram launched its Reels and Shop tabs — both efficient and fun ways for brand owners and entrepreneurs all over the world to connect with consumers — in an effort to accommodate this booming era of e-commerce. Photo Credit: Instagram The way these new features work for businesses on the app provides a better shopping experience for consumers looking to discover new items and brands. Users are able to see a Reel with tagged products,...
Supporting Black businesses has become a common practice for many over the last few months as people are demanding non-Black consumers to put their money where their mouth is. As we continue to fight for racial equality in America, Black businesses all over are working to create more economic opportunities that benefit all. In doing so, they also ask for customers to support their efforts to compete with the bigger e-commerce businesses of the world like Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others. In celebration of Black Business Month, check out the below list of Black-owned businesses to replace everyday essential shopping: Clothing, Shoes, & Accessories Nubian Skin View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nubian Skin (@nubianskin) Nubian Skin is an inclusive hosiery and lingerie brand that was founded specifically to cater to people of color and their skin tones. The brand offers intimates for both men and women, including bras, underwear, menswear, swimwear, and more. Kahmune View...
The number of Black-owned businesses has increased. However, there is still much room for improvement. According to a research study released by the online loan marketplace LendingTree, the data reveals a 22.2% year-over-year increase since 2019. Looking back to 2022, just 3.3% of businesses were Black-owned , and 40% were women-owned. Other trends highlighted in the report show that Atlanta, GA, remains the primary hub for Black-owned businesses. The city has held this distinction for the past three years, with 11.3% of Black-owned businesses traced back to it. Other key cities identified in the report include Fayetteville, NC, Virginia Beach, VA, and Memphis, TN. Conversely, California cities such as San Jose, Oxnard, and San Diego ranked lowest in the number of Black-owned businesses. “When I initially started my entrepreneur journey, there weren’t very many Black founders,” Tiffany Ricks, chief executive of the cybersecurity platform HacWarhe, told Inc. “Now it’s exciting...
February marks a pivotal moment in Black history, and one town in Maryland is celebrating with a record number of Black-owned businesses . Princess Anne, located in Somerset County, MD, and serving as its county seat, now boasts at least 25 Black-owned businesses in its town of fewer than 4,000 residents, according to WBOC-TV. “When I first moved to this area, I was told that the last known lynching was in Princess Anne, Maryland,” said business owner Leslie Coker, reflecting on the past. “That there is now 25 Black-owned businesses in a county that has less than 4,000 people, that’s phenomenal.” Coker runs the Dynamic Divas majorette dance company, one of the Black-owned businesses contributing to Princess Anne’s record-breaking milestone. Alongside Croker, business owner Dale Parker runs the Cropa Station restaurant with his partner, while Danae Ballard launched her salon, Alluring Looks by Danae, at just 21 years old. They all take pride in being part of a community representing...
UI and web designer Dacia Petrie is behind an app that makes it easier for shoppers to buy from Black-owned businesses. Black shoppers are looking for more ways to support some of their favorite brands beyond major retail. This comes after several companies, including Walmart and Target, announced plans to roll back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. In fact, entrepreneur and graphic designer Danielle Coke Balfour pulled her products from Target shelves and directed buyers to her online storefront, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “All products pictured are retired at this time except the Good Work Journal. My licensing agreement was with a vendor, not Target directly. Target has described their changes as ‘concluding’ specific DEI initiatives, which I’ve expressed my personal disappointment with. I stand by my message about the importance of supporting Black-owned brands and businesses,” Balfour wrote on Instagram. In a follow-up video, Balfour reveals that...