New website creates online marketplace for Fairfield County stores


Buying natural soap at Organachs in Westport, a necklace at Wave on Elm in New Canaan, and a jacket at Indigo Jane Boutique in Newtown previously meant a lot of driving or multiple transactions online.

But a couple are looking to change that with the launch from fairfieldcountyshops.com, a new website that serves as an online marketplace for Fairfield County stores. Through the website, items from all of these local stores can be placed in one online cart and paid for in one transaction, much like national online sites, such as Amazon.

“We wanted to create such a simple and easy experience, but people could find the premium products in their own community,” said co-founder Greg Gatto, Ridgefield resident and senior at Yale University.

He said this approach would encourage people to buy locally. He said research shows that people often opted for the big sites online for the sake of convenience and the amount of product choice.


He and his partner Olivia Ghee, a resident of Fairfield and a recent graduate from Fordham University, said they are reaching out to a wide range of stores to offer their customers this selection of products as well.

They said the ultimate goal of the site would be for people to start their shopping experience, including online, locally.

Gatto said they came up with the idea in September because her mother said she felt guilty about buying from sites like Amazon when she wanted to support local businesses. He said they decided to look into why it was so much easier to shop on these sites and decided to create a similar template for local items only, officially launched right after Thanksgiving.

The site is categorized or by store and includes gift guides.

Right now, they are focused on clothing, accessories and home items, they said, but there is potential for further development.

So far, 27 stores in Westport, New Canaan, Greenwich, Wilton, Darien, Newtown, Fairfield and Ridgefield have signed with more companies in talks to join after the holiday rush calmed down a bit, they said. declared.

The store can decide how much merchandise it wants to sell online through Fairfield County stores, although Ghee said most have opted to have their entire online inventory available.

The website is also connected to the store sites, so new products are added to both places when they go live.

“It’s always live and up to date,” Gatto said.

Stores continue to send purchases as they would through their own sites. There is also an in-store pick-up option.

There is no cost for the company’s membership. Instead, Fairfield County stores get 5% of the sale.

“We want this to be a safe opportunity for them to join us,” he said.

The site focuses on the shops of Fairfield County because they have stated that these shops are an important part of the character of the county and one of the things that makes it unique.

“We’re both from Fairfield County,” Gatto said. “We wanted to support where we’re from and support the community.”

Ghee said she grew up visiting stores in Fairfield, something she still enjoys doing, and began to wonder about these similar experiences in other cities. She hopes this website will introduce people to other great local places and said that one of the most common comments on their Facebook posts regarding their participating businesses is that people weren’t aware it was just 15. minutes from their home.

“There are so many awesome stores in Fairfield County, but there really was no way to find out unless they lived in town or had heard about it from a friend,” said Gatto.

The couple began researching potential businesses through local chambers of commerce, researching blogs and contacting Facebook.

“We hammered the sidewalk a lot and hit the cities a lot,” Gatto said, adding that it has allowed them to find “cool gems” that are a bit off the beaten track and not downtown.

Ghee said going in person has been key in helping businesses understand the concept and sign up.

“It’s all about showing up in front of the right people,” she said.

Customers and potential businesses can find out more on the website, Instagram and Facebook, all under the name of Fairfield County Shops.