More than 200 Northwestern Ontario businesses, including 125 in the Thunder Bay District, received $2,500 grants to help their online presence.

The funding came from the Digital Main Street Program which has provided over $300,000 to businesses across Ontario.

Development Officer for Small Business in Thunder Bay, Ryan Moore, explains some of the things the program provides businesses.

“Improve their online presence with e-commerce platforms, learning how to use mail lists, your Google My Places pages, so they could be found online. Whether it is to be found online, such as your website, but also what it means to sell online and stay engaged with your customers. ”

The program also a strong focus on curbside pickup, which has become a staple for retail stores since the start of the pandemic.

Moore goes on to say the lessons these businesses have learned will extend beyond the pandemic, as many consumers have discovered they prefer online shopping.

“I think a lot of people have realized how easy it is to order my meal for example for pick up. Sure, we’re still going to want to go in and have that face-to-face connections with the stores we love, but myself I have a Friday routine of stores I like to go and pick up items from, but I check their websites, I check their Facebook pages to see what they have so when I go in I know what I’m picking up. So, even then being online has become part of the shopping experience.”

Good online presences have been massive in helping smaller business keep their heads above water since the beginning of the pandemic.