Local First Arizona to launch online Shop Arizona Marketplace on Monday

PHOENIX — Many in-person activites have gone online amid the coronavirus pandemic, and now shopping locally for holidays will as well.

Local First Arizona in a press release Wednesday announced the Shop Arizona Marketplace, a one-of-a-kind e-commerce website showcasing products from the state’s local businesses and entrepreneurs, will launch on Monday.

People will be able to browse more than 50 vendors across the state, with such items as holiday gift sets, rural Arizona-grown wine and handmade mugs up for sale.

“Through our small business recovery work this year, one thing has been made clear: small businesses will need to compete with big-box retailers and Amazon to make it past the new year”, Thomas Barr, executive director of Local First Arizona, said in the release.

“The marketplace brings together local favorites such as Changing Hands to startup businesses such as My Little Mascara Club — all in one place for consumers to find— and makes it easier than ever to shop local and keep dollars in our home.”

Shoppers can prepare for the holiday virtual rush by creating a personalized local wishlist or gift registry and share it with friends and family.

The organization is partnering with full-service marketing firm Ideas Collide to launch the marketplace.

“Small business isn’t only the backbone of our economy, it is the heart and soul,” Matthew Clyde, president and co-founder of Ideas Collide, said in the release.

“We hope this is a start to many great things to come for the local business community in the state of Arizona during such a challenging time.”

Local First Arizona said that it had been a long-time goal to create an online marketplace to go along with its online local business directory of more than 3,000 locally owned businesses.

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