The ‘ShopStAlbert.com’ Story
In 2013, Arlene Merrill and her family sold their home in Alberta and jumped into an RV to begin an epic journey across the United States that later landed them in their new home and life in sunny Mexico. Four years later, Arlene and her husband Bryan are back in Canada, working hard as a team to drive local shopping and supporting St Albert businesses online in the city of St. Albert.
St. Albert is located on the Sturgeon River just Northwest of Edmonton, Alberta, and is home to a charming downtown and around 65,000 Albertans. The city is filled with hard-working small business owners and is a hub for arts, culture, and heritage in the Edmonton Region. As the home of Western Canada's largest outdoor farmers' market, St. Albert is the perfect place to launch a ‘Shop Local/Search Local’ movement (now affectionately referred to as a Revolution!) through ShopStAlbert.com’s powerful and unique platform!
Arlene says she knows from experience that in small business it can be tough deciding how to market yourself and having time to do it all yourself is a challenge, both problems she knows ShopStAlbert.com can successfully address for the small business community.
"The big goal is to bring those small businesses together in camaraderie," said Arlene Merrill, new City Manager of ShopStAlbert.com. "When I talk to small business owners I see that they're all having the same core struggles. I would love to eventually launch a community hub where we could have those conversations at a Friday night mixer or a seminar and come together to help support each other. That's the dream for ShopStAlbert.com."
"Arlene embodies the drive, passion, and personality of small business in St. Albert," said ShopCity.com CEO, Colin Pape. "There is no doubt in my mind that her community and local economy are about to benefit from her work with ShopStAlbert.com and the ShopCity.com model in a big way."
Since 2019, Bryan has stepped into a much more predominant role within ShopStAlbert, heading its marketing and advertising and being the face-to-face contact with local business owners. His passion is education, not necessarily focused on the public as he believes the ‘Shop Local’ movement has been alive and well in Canada for over 20 years now. Rather, Bryan focuses his attention on supporting the small business owners in St Albert by helping them keep on pace with the rapidly changing needs of SMBs and availing themselves of the attitudes, behaviours, and platforms required to necessitate growth. His efforts focus largely on Search Engine Optimization as the world has experienced a radical shift and local search is of paramount importance for the survival of small businesses.
