Calgary follows Hat’s lead in joining Google Canada e-commerce program
By Medicine Hat News on September 4, 2020.
The City of Calgary has joined a program from Google Canada to get more local businesses set up for e-commerce six weeks after the City of Medicine Hat. The pilot project in Calgary, announced Thursday, aims to enrol 90 businesses to engage on the “ShopHere” platform and develop websites and purchasing capability. A partnership of business groups in Medicine Hat announced on July 14 they hoped to get 250 businesses signed up. City hall’s Invest economic development is putting about $50,000 toward the effort by covering part of the costs. Officials in Medicine Hat told the News on Thursday that 74 applications had been approved at the end of August. Google Canada first launched the program in Toronto, then expanded to several other Ontario municipalities in the spring, advertising it as a way to help businesses and self-employed service providers thrive during increased online activity. At the time, Medicine Hat was promoted as the first municipality outside that area to sign on, though there was some confusion about Calgary’s participation. The program links business owners with marketers and developers, which Google has said will be hired from post-secondary institutions, to develop online selling strategies for products and services. 8-7
