City joins Digital Main Street's ShopHERE powered by Google 

RICHMOND HILL – Richmond Hill has teamed up with ShopHERE powered by Google to help local businesses sell products and services online with ease. Small businesses and artists in Richmond Hill can now apply at www.digitalmainstreet.ca/shophere to have an online store built for them at no cost.

ShopHERE powered by Google was created to help independent businesses and artists build a digital presence and minimize the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, Google Canada announced a one million dollar investment to enable Digital Main Street to expand the program and help more businesses in municipalities across the country.

Google’s investment will also help more small businesses and artists receive the digital skills training needed to participate and thrive in the digital economy.

This partnership is part of Richmond Hill’s plan to help local businesses recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Richmond Hill Council created the Recover Richmond Hill Task Force with participation from four levels of government as well as the local business associations to guide the comprehensive economic recovery efforts.

Richmond Hill recently hosted a webinar series to help local business prepare to reopen and recordings are available now at RichmondHill.ca/SBECwebinars. The series includes sessions on workspace planning, lead generation, employee safety, PPE and the economy as a whole.

For more information about how the City is helping local businesses, visit RichmondHill.ca/BusinessHelp or follow us on Twitter at @RH_EcDev.

Quotes

“It’s important for the City to spur recovery for our small businesses, which represent more than 80% of Richmond Hill businesses and are the backbone of our local economy. Even as businesses are able to open to the public again, being able to sell online will help them thrive. We are proud to be part of the ShopHERE powered by Google program to support small business success.”  

~ Mayor Dave Barrow

“The Recover Richmond Hill Task Force is evaluating a range of ideas from City staff to help accelerate Richmond Hill’s return to economic prosperity. Programs such as ShopHERE powered by Google are crucial to local business and are an important part of our plans.”

~ Ward 6 Councillor Godwin Chan, Chair, Recover Richmond Hill Task Force and Chair, Richmond Hill Economic Development Committee

“Since Google began its business in Canada nearly twenty years ago, we’ve been focused on helping Canadian businesses of all sizes to unlock the prosperity of the internet. We remain optimistic and more determined than ever that technology is the toolkit for a world of opportunities. Our one million dollar investment will go towards expanding the ShopHERE program nationally, so we can help small businesses across Canada navigate the challenges ahead.”

~ Sabrina Geremia, VP and Country Manager, Google Canada

About Google Canada

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a global technology leader, Google's innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google Canada has offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa with over 1,500 Canadian Google employees working on teams across Engineering, AI Research, Sales and Marketing.

About Digital Main Street

Digital Main Street is a program that helps main street businesses achieve digital transformation. The program is built around an online learning platform, structured training programs, and our Digital Service Squad, a team of street-level team members who help main street businesses grow and manage their operations through technology. Digital Main Street was created by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA) with direct support from the City of Toronto. DMS is also supported by a group of strategic business partners, including Google, MasterCard, Microsoft and Shopify.

About Recover Richmond Hill Task Force  

The Recover Richmond Hill Task Force is recommending measures to Richmond Hill Council to assist local businesses to reopen, retool and recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Task Force includes three members of Council – Ward 2 Councillor Tom Muench, Ward 4 Councillor David West and Ward 6 Councillor Godwin Chan (Task Force Chair). It also includes one member each from the Richmond Hill Board of Trade (RHBOT), the Richmond Hill Village Business Improvement Association (BIA) and the Markham Richmond Hill and Vaughan Chinese Business Association (MRVCBA), along with a York Region Economic Development representative.

Media Contact

Libbi Hood, Communications Advisor, 905-771-6320, libbi.hood@richmondhill.ca