ZIONSVILLE — Local businesses aren’t waiting around for the pandemic to end. In fact, some are thinking ahead.
Jason Fordham is the man behind the launch of Zionsville’s new contactless commerce site.
“Certainly got other chamber of commerces and cities locally that are interested in this. We have partnered with another, but I don’t want to say it yet because it isn’t live yet,” Fordham said. “Perfit is the company I founded. It goes back a couple of years. We have been looking for how to adapt retail for what’s been demanded before the pandemic."
Fordham said the pandemic may have pushed things along, but moving local commerce online has been in the works.
“I think there’s the opportunity to create something that not only provides value now amid a pandemic, but also in the future because even once we get past this, you still have to, as a business, compete with Amazon, Walmart, all of these other marketplaces,” he said.
Here’s how it works. Shoppers, especially those looking for holiday deals, can go to the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce's website where they can type what they are looking for in the search bar. It shows them which locals stores can help.
“We can make commerce that is local commerce easier. More people will use it,” said Allyson Gutwein with Zionsville Chamber of Commerce.
The end goal remains the same: to find new ways to support local.
“People are doing what is needed to keep their business going. We are doing what we can to make sure they are around after the pandemic because almost 70% of every business that comes into a small business stays local. That means every dollar we put into the local economy,” Gutwein said.
