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The Real Deal: How to get deals by shopping locally during Prime Day

Last year consumers spent over $12 billion on Amazon Prime Day, but small businesses are struggling to compete with the e-commerce giant.

News 12 Staff

Jul 12, 2023, 12:36 PM

Updated 511 days ago

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Did you get a great deal yet shopping Amazon's annual Prime Day sale?
News 12 Consumer Reporter Janice Lieberman has the Real Deal on how to keep your money local.
Last year consumers spent over $12 billion on Amazon Prime Day, but small businesses are struggling to compete with the e-commerce giant.
One local company is helping Long Island stores deliver their goods on demand.
“We've been here for 48 years. We get online orders. We have a lot. We have two stores, one in Great Neck, one in Wheatley Plaza, online orders, corporate orders, sending birthday gifts and get well gifts. And we do a lot of deliveries in this community, and they rely on us,” says Jeff Lazar.
Lazar chocolates has been in Jeff Lazar’s family for four generations and the demand to keep up with chain retailers and big box stores drove him to seek out a company called Trellus.
“So we deliver from almost 400 stores from Montauk to Mineola, including farms same day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Amazon delivers a lot of commodity-based items. We deliver a lot of local specialty stores and commodity-based items. But our value at this time, 90% of our deliveries are in two hours or less,” says Adam Haber.
Haber grew tired of watching local stores shut down, so he created his platform offering local companies a monthly fee-based service to deliver their goods across Long Island.
No corporate chain stores allowed -- only mom and pop shops like funky monkey toy shop and Lazar Chocolates in Wheatley Plaza.
“That's huge for our customers that will shop small businesses and being able to help them, help them with their needs, with deliveries. Who's having a baby send a baby gift for me, that's something that's priceless. You can't put a dollar amount on that because it makes the customers happy and their kids, and that's the most important thing,” says Stacy Ferris.
A local Trellus dispatcher routes drivers to any of their contracted businesses.
Trellus is hoping to have a marketplace up and running by the holiday season to make shopping easier on their platform.