How Local Retail Stores Became an Ecommerce Destination Overnight

To know Nyack is to know Maria Luisa – for over 25 years.  At Liqui-Site, we were fans of her boutique since before it was located opposite of our offices in downtown Nyack. Maria Luisa Boutique, now located just down the street from our offices on Burd Street, is adjacent to ML Gifts & Accessories, its “younger, sister” store.  From clothes to jewelry, gifts, shoes, and home decor, we’ve always relied on Maria Luisa to find that special gift for any occasion.

When it came time to bring the two stores into the digital space, the challenge was apparent: two popular stores, two brand identities, two different customer demographics. Maria Luisa Whittingham, the founder of both shops, needed a custom website design and development team with a strong sense of aesthetic and cutting-edge web technology. She chose us at Liqui-Site Designs, Inc., and we were excited to strategize a solution for her unique needs.

Liqui-Site developed a beautiful and engaging ecommerce website that merged the two Maria Luisa shops into a collective site that maintained the autonomy of each brand. The new site, www.marialuisaboutique.com , transports online shoppers into the downtown shops and provides a fun, comfortable shopping experience.  We developed an easy-to-navigate product catalog (with many more products coming as we speak!) and a secure checkout system, all built on our enterprise-level Ecommerce Creator™ platform. Online shoppers are now able to view the latest products and best sellers, watch videos on the store’s signature brands, and create a personal account for future visits, including the ability to create their own Wish Lists.

And because Maria Luisa customers are so actively engaged in the community (check out one of their “Ladies Night” events series for a rollicking good time), we integrated social media, a blog, and email marketing tools that strengthen the business-customer relationship – all managed in-house by Maria Luisa and her staff.

The Maria Luisa stores have always been considered mainstays of the downtown Nyack area, and if you ask people on the street, chances are they know the store, the owner, her commitment to community, and the friendly staff at each shop.  We listened, and made sure these qualities translated into a modern website that reflected the tone, trustworthiness and personal attention with which the Maria Luisa name has become synonymous.

We were rewarded in knowing that Liqui-Site contributes to the growing, local economy by building successful web-based businesses, and that we help foster community networking through online tools and new social platforms. So, can you be innovative and stay true to your roots? Liqui-Site believes so.