New browser extension helps local businesses compete with Amazon – Kansas City, Missouri

Seattle, wash. Standard goods, Pacific Northwest Gear and Pop Culture items. Owner Jeff Gardner started a local business six years ago.

“I thought I needed this, so it’s like,’Yes, let’s do it,’” Gardner said. That’s why I did it because people come to the physical store. “

Like many local businesses, Gardner was a big hit during the pandemic. There were times when he could only sell online.

“Running an online site is like running an entire other store. It’s expensive and difficult. You have to hire others and the shipping costs are high.”

He says he has a physical store and values ​​interacting with people, but he accepted it when someone came to him with the opportunity to help with online sales.

The help is Then it’s good, A browser extension that allows online shoppers to view local products available in their community.

“I found myself competing for the same consumers, just like big companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart,” said Sook founder Jonathan Sandals.

Sandals have a marketing background and knew that local stores couldn’t compete. So he came up with the browser extension Sook, which means “market” in Arabic. When someone is searching for an item online, Sook shows them all the options within a few miles of their home. It’s as easy as downloading an extension to your Chrome or Firefox browser.

“What’s an easy and quick one-click way to buy a better product 5 miles away from home than to buy something 5,000 miles away in the warehouse,” Sandals said. Says.

All he needs from the store is an address and a website so that he can add it to the database. Currently, he isn’t making dimes in his work, and he doesn’t intend to. He says he created it because it’s why local businesses love Seattle culture.

“They embody an independent spirit, an independent creation, and above all, a better community. These aren’t just distant, faceless companies dealing with mass-produced products. These are yours. It’s a unique piece created by a neighbor. “

Gardner says sandals are the only ones who came to him without asking for a profit.

“I couldn’t believe it at first because everyone is trying to make money. Everyone wants to make the next Uber and make hundreds of millions of dollars, but he’s true to his words. “

Sandals say Sook is a passionate project and dozens of other people are willing to help for free. Sook is currently in the largest cities in all states and is available to anyone within 100 miles of those locations.