6 Retailers Share Their Stories About Why They Created E-Commerce Websites

When it comes to commerce, making sure your store is visible online is key. Even for physical storefronts, having an online presence is critical in capturing customer attention and driving traffic to your storefront – thus, getting the right domain for your retail business is a must. To help, more and more retailers are capturing .STORE domains to help market their retail business. Below, here from six retailers who share their #MyStoreMyStory about why they decided to get a .STORE URL and how it has helped their unique businesses. 

Lucy Edge | yogaclicks.STORE

Lucy Edge’s story in her own words:

Whether we’re making boutique yogawear, handmade jewellery or original gifts, it’s all about creating pieces that work on and off the yoga mat, and having them work according to yogi values – being good for people and the planet.

Like me, many of our makers have come from corporate jobs in which they were successful but miserable. I was a burnt out corporate, working eighty hour weeks in advertising. Nothing in my life was working, so I decided to straighten myself out with six months in the yoga schools of India. I came home with the knowledge that my happiness lay in writing. A year later Random House published Yoga School Dropout. Suddenly I was getting emails from all over the world. As I shared my story readers shared theirs – how yoga had also woken them up to their creativity and given them the courage to follow their dream – to start a creative enterprise inspired by yogi values.

I was particularly struck by the beauty, sustainability and originality of this creativity. Natalia was making yoga leggings out of recycled coffee grounds, yoga teacher Rachel was hand making exquisite malas, and mother of three Anna had created a super-soft, sweat-absorbing eco yoga mat.

Feeling inspired by this dedication, skill and passion I decided to curate an international marketplace, from which I could champion the very best yogi makers and creators. From engineer Dana recognising wool as a suitable material for a sustainable yoga mat to Christina’s mission to inspire everyone to spread their wings, to Reiki healer Delphine, charging her gemstones with rays of light.

I hope all this creativity will act as a beacon of light to you, perhaps inspiring you to fulfil a yoga-inspired dream of your own.

Why did Lucy Edge pick a .STORE domain for Yoga Clicks? “We chose a .STORE because we are a store by yogis. We wanted this to be a super-clear message to all our potential customers. .STORE was a great fit!”

MossPointsNorth.store | mosspointsnorth.STORE

Amy Guerrero’s story in her words:  

Fibers have always been part of my life and interests. I’m the person who shops with their fingers, always touching fabrics and buying fun textiles and yarn. I love the exciting visual texture that physical texture can bring. My work ranges from small accessories to large wall hangings and many things inbetween. Hand crafting each product I offer is important to me from design to shipping I take care in each and every step of the way!

Moss Points North is based in Phoenix, AZ and can be found for sale online, in small boutiques and at local Phoenix area markets. A variety of DIY classes are available as well.

Why did Amy Guerrero pick a .STORE domain for Moss Points North? “When I started designing my first website, I was thrilled to find the .STORE domain available. It was a great way to show people who found my business that my main focus was to offer products. It helps people understand a bit about the core of my business right from the beginning!”

Bret Contreras | BretContreras.STORE

Bret’s story in his words:

I’ve always been obsessed with fitness, but personal training was originally just a side business for me while I was teaching high school mathematics in Arizona. Once I realised that fitness was where my true passion was I opened my own facility to devote myself to training others full time. Fast forward to today and I help people from all over the world through my website, operate a successful gym in San Diego called The Glute Lab and I’m a published author and have my PhD in Sports Science from AUT University.

Why did Bret Contreras pick a .STORE domain for his store? “We opted for a .STORE domain because we wanted to clearly distinguish our eCommerce site from our content site, and the store extension helps in our organic search rankings. We also see more and more large brands utilising .STORE domains and we felt it was a smart move for our business.”

Chef Alexandra Razumova | Sweetheart.STORE

Alexandra’s story in her words:

I grew up in Moscow, Russia. By the time I turned 20 years old I had pretty good ranking in WTA in singles and doubles, good level of English and a lot of friends around the world. But I wanted to move on with life, so when I got injured I decided to stop my career and start something new. It was very hard, first 2 weeks flew by while I tried to figure out what normal people do. Naturally I started helping my coach in teaching and really liked it. It became my main work. But I didn’t stop exploring myself further. And life gave me a lot of surprising turns. For 2 years, along with coaching, I had a job in IT department of a big construction company in Russia. Then for the first time I came to visit East Coast of United States and met my love here! So he stole me away and now we live together in a beautiful city of Boston.

American life can be brutal at times, but you have a lot of opportunities as well. During cold winters tennis is not that popular, so I finally had time to try something else. I’ve learned how to make cute miniatures from polymer clay and later even opened a shop on Etsy. I started taking voice lessons (and still do), so you can even meet me in Lansdowne Pub on Thursdays singing live with a real band! Then in the beginning of 2017 I was looking for a birthday cake for my boyfriend… …and couldn’t find anything special. Browsing through my friend’s pages on Facebook I saw the cake I’ve never seen before! Mirror glaze shine was mesmerizing, it was so elegant and clean with straight lines of layers inside. This is it! Sure enough I found nothing at all like this in the area. So I contacted one pastry school in Moscow that teaches how to make them. I finished the course and fell in love with the process! Not only mousse cake making, but I also discovered the whole new chocolate world for myself!

I began my study, going back to making desserts like the old times. We had friends over more and more often and everybody seemed to love them. Then more and more often they would ask me to sell them cakes or bonbons for their big events, and I knew I have to let more people know about it. So this is how Sweetheart Patisserie was born. I’m planning to open up a cafe further on, but for now I feel very comfortable working on my own residential kitchen. The goal is to educate people that you don’t have to compromise on the taste to have a fabulous looking cakes or chocolates, and also don’t have to worry about your shape too much, because I use only the best all-natural ingredients, my desserts are always balanced and nutritious as your dream dessert can be!

Seems like people like them!

Why did Alexandra Razumova choose a .STORE domain for her store? “Sweetheart has everything I was looking for in a name and .STORE domain was the perfect addition to it, creating a cohesive image of what my business is about.”

Dan Fairbanks | Xion.STORE

Dan’s story in his words:

Meet XION, a team of dedicated outdoor enthusiasts based in Salt Lake City. Founded in early 2016, XION is a marketplace that connects the independent retailer with the community allowing the customer to easily shop the products they want locally. XION provides small retailers with the tools they need to successfully compete with big e-commerce and better run their businesses.

The idea for XION was born when CEO/Founder Dan Fairbanks owned and operated multiple small running stores in the Seattle area. He discovered that there was no integrated e-commerce/marketplace solution for independent retailers. From there he teamed up with Co-Founder Robert Ivie and together with the help of a few other dedicated employees they developed XION with the goal of revolutionizing the way consumers shop locally!

Why did Dan Fairbanks choose a .STORE domain for his store? “I chose a .STORE domain because we are an eCommerce marketplace platform for specialty brick and mortar retailers and the .STORE domain extension makes a lot of sense and adds relevance to our business.”

Marcu O’Donovan | Husk.STORE

Marcus’s story in his words:

The world of nuts has its ups and downs. It has taken many years to get traction in a competitive market but here in the UK the consumption of nuts is on the rise as consumers appreciate the huge nutritional benefits that they have to offer as well as the fantastic taste. If you’re looking to take the entrepreneurial journey expect it to take some time and prepare for a long, tough journey but with some light at the end of the tunnel. Have belief, even when others around you might think you’ve gone a little crazy!”

Why did Marcus O’Donovan choose a .STORE domain for his store? “We knew we wanted an online presence as a store and the .STORE domain seemed exciting and original. We get asked about our .STORE domain choice a lot so it’s a good talking point for our brand. We hope to benefit from this new and exciting domain style.”

Share your story about why you have an online store via Twitter and use hashtag #MyStoreMyStory for a chance to win!