Free websites

AUCKLAND, Thursday: Yellow has unveiled unlimited free ecommerce websites “to ease the pain for essential goods retailers at level 4”.

Yellow ceo Tracey Taylor said: “For essential goods retailers such as greengrocers, butchers and bakeries, Covid-19 level 4 restrictions prevent trading without an online order and contactless delivery mechanism.

“The result is that small businesses up and down the country without this infrastructure are effectively locked out of the retail chain.

“A research study, commissioned by Yellow, shows a very limited increase year-on-year in the number of small to medium Kiwi businesses who have an online presence.

“Over 1,000 businesses across regions and industries participated in the research, and while 66% reported they have some form of online presence, that number’s only 5% more than last year.

“We get it, digital can be hard. But it’s an essential part of the overall mix. The small businesses that succeed are typically using a multi-channel strategy.”

“The results aren’t surprising, given the research also highlights that perceptions around difficulty and cost are still prevalent.

“We get it, digital can be hard. But it’s an essential part of the overall mix. The small businesses that we see succeed are typically using a multi-channel strategy, supporting different customers to connect with them in different ways.

“Yellow provides a free print and online profile for any business. But now, they’ve taken it a step further, offering an unlimited number of free ecommerce websites (powered by Shopify) for the next three months.

“Offering free ecommerce websites is our way of showing some love to Kiwi businesses at Alert Level 4. These businesses can trade right now with one of our free online stores and contactless delivery.”

Taylor says with efficient product planning, a business owner can get one of Yellow’s templated websites with an online store live in one or two days.

• www.yellow.co.nz