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Consumer Stories

Preparations for new retailer opening this spring

New Poolwerx franchisee, Neil Gwynne will be dipping his toes a little deeper into the business waters around March 1st.  He’s now painting his Riverwood Town Center brick-and-mortar shop, “Mariner Blue” per the instructions of his franchisor. “I love having the backing of a company that’s been doing this for 30 years. I like being around pools and I like an honest day’s work,” said the former Amazon executive. Gwynne looked at other franchises but was impressed with the Poolwerx track record and their research. He says there are more

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Neil Gordon December 10, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

CSRA firm warns against online shopping out of U.S.

More than $37 billion in online shopping was spent during Cyber Week, the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday. Granted much of that lined the pockets of Amazon and eBay, but there are two other companies, Temu and Shein, both based in China, that spend heavily to promote online shopping. What is heavy spending? Try $10 million a day on Facebook and Google. Both companies offer products at extremely low prices. Who doesn’t like a bargain? Here’s the rub. Temu is owned by PDD Holdings which owns Pinduoduo, a

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mitzi-oxford December 10, 2023 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Ready to work

See how the Augusta Technical College is using a new platform to help students find jobs in today’s edition of BizBits with Mike Petchenik.

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Mike Petchenik December 5, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

New shop will capture the spirit of Aiken

Like many visitors, Sarah Dodge and her husband came for the horses but fell in love with the community. Four years ago, after visiting friends in the Winter Colony, the dressage horse trainer and her farrier husband packed up their bags in Colorado and moved to Aiken. When she went looking for Aiken-themed products at the request of friends and family, she couldn’t find them. Her entrepreneurial skills took over and in a few weeks, she will open True Aiken. “I’ve always thought about opening a shop and I thought

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mitzi-oxford December 4, 2023 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Sparkling holiday shopping news

The weather outside was not frightful and the shopping was delightful for retailers between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Mike Petchenik has a sled full of good news in today’s Biz Bits.

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mike-petchenik December 4, 2023 No Comments
B2B Podcasting

Small business holiday shopping kicks off with a bang!

If home is where the heart is, small businesses in the CSRA benefitted when the shopping season kicked off after Thanksgiving. Learn more about how local businesses fared in the Small Business Saturday Crawl from Mike Petchenik in today’s Biz Bits.

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mike-petchenik December 3, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

New CSRA nursery decking the halls of businesses and homes

They might be the new kid on the nursery and landscaping block, but Southern Carolina Palms in Aiken is ready with all things Christmas. Located at 22 Gunter Road, the business opened in July and now six months later, they boast of one of the largest selections of holiday decorations in the CSRA. “Most of our sales come from families looking for a Christmas tree, wreath, swags, or inflatables,” said Annaleyse Black who handles customer questions and deliveries for Southern Carolina Palms. “We have all of that, but we have

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mitzi-oxford November 30, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Robust sales report kicks off Christmas buying

Gloomy predictions for a less-than-healthy holiday sales season were dispelled by a report this week from the National Retail Federation (NRF). During the five-day period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, NRF found a record 200.4 million consumers hit stores and websites. That surpasses last year’s 196.7 million and far exceeds the NRF’s prediction of 182 million shoppers. “We attribute that turnout to a number of factors certainly,” said NRF President and CEO, Matthew Shay. “It speaks to the way consumers are feeling, but also the deals that were out

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 29, 2023 No Comments
Consumer Stories

Help from Augusta & Palmetto expert on Cyber Monday

Fire up your computers and grab your credit cards. Today is Cyber Monday, a day when your Christmas shopping can be done from your couch while wearing your jammies. Cyber Monday was coined in Nov. 2005 by the National Retail Federation, a time when online shopping was still in its infancy. Since then, it has grown into one of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season. According to the website, www.blackfriday.com, in 2022, shoppers spent an estimated 11.3 billion on Cyber Monday. That compared to $9.12 billion. Bloomberg, in

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 26, 2023 No Comments
B2B Stories

Small businesses hope shoppers think local for Christmas joy

CSRA small businesses hope shoppers will remember the old saying, “Home is where the heart is,” and support local merchants this season. The biggest shopping day of the year is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when the Christmas shopping season officially begins. Traditionally, shoppers head to the big box stores to score bargains. But a day later, the spotlight turns to small, local businesses for Small Business Saturday. More than a dozen businesses in downtown Augusta will participate in the third annual Small Business Saturday (SBS) Crawl, sponsored by

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Dana Lynn McIntyre November 21, 2023 No Comments
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