The Invercargill City Council has launched a new website for the city centre – www.invercargillnz.com.

The site is the latest initiative from Council to provide an online platform to showcase CBD businesses and promote products and services available in Invercargill.

Retail consultancy First Retail Group, in the development of the Invercargill Retail Strategy, identified a need for an online presence as a key performance indicator in promoting and creating sustainability for the city centre.

Invercargill City Council City Centre Co-ordinator Kari Graber said the website is multifunctional and allows for businesses without their own digital presence or website to have an e-commerce option to sell goods and services. The website also provides a directory to help promote spending in Invercargill’s CBD.

“The website showcases a few of our hero businesses that strive to provide the best in customer experiences and highlights what makes their businesses special and unique,” Ms Graber said.

“Consumers are searching more and more online before making decisions on spending and the website will provide a portal for retailers to show what they have to offer, their opening hours, and tell consumers a bit about their business.”

The website allows for the businesses listed to take ownership over their listing and add their own content and pictures. The addition of content by local businesses listed means that the web presence will grow.

The website will provide a platform for City Centre retailers to promote themselves, with general content being added all the time to keep it fresh and interesting to consumers.

Ms Graber said www.invercargillnz.com was first launched in August as part of the Invercargill city brand launch, but it has now been developed into an online retail platform.

“It will continue to tell stories of local heroes and show the ways that people dream big and achieve amazing things in our city, as well as stories of business opportunity and growth in our CBD,” she said.