Connected Commerce Council

10/16/2026

Today, 3C and The New Bronx Chamber of Commerce brought together Bronx small business owners and New York lawmakers to discuss the One Fair Price Act and how businesses use digital tools to reach customers, offer discounts, and grow.

We were grateful to welcome NYS Assembly Member Emérita Torres and Assemblymember Landon C. Dais, as well as representatives from Assemblymember George Alvarez's office.

From abandoned-cart discounts to customer loyalty programs, business owners shared firsthand examples of how technology helps them compete and asked how proposed pricing rules might affect these tools.

A big thank you to the participating small businesses, our legislative guests, and Lisa Sorin and the Bronx Chamber team for helping make this conversation possible.

10/15/2026

Personalized discounts and promotions help small businesses attract customers, increase sales, and compete with larger companies.

In a new Albany Times Union op-ed, Anthony Gaddy, President and CEO of the Upstate New York Black Chamber of Commerce, raises concerns that New York's One Fair Price Act could restrict these valuable tools, creating additional challenges for small businesses across the state.

Read his perspective on why protecting consumers and preserving legitimate small business discounts should go hand in hand.

Before Gov. Hochul signs the legislation, tweak it so it targets data-informed price increases while preserving the discounts that help smaller businesses compete.

10/14/2026

Cybersecurity for small businesses isn’t just about passwords. 🔐

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, here are a few protections that are easy to overlook:
• Verify payment changes another way. If a vendor emails new banking instructions, confirm them by phone using a number you already trust. Business email compromise often starts with a convincing fake invoice or payment request.
• Audit who still has access. Former employees, contractors, and outside vendors should not keep access they no longer need.
• Protect your backups from your own network. CISA recommends keeping critical backups separate from the systems they protect, so an attack cannot take out both at once.
• Review third-party access. Your IT provider, bookkeeper, marketing agency, or other vendors may have access to important business systems.

Make sure that access is limited to what they actually need. A good cybersecurity checkup is often less about buying new technology and more about closing the doors you forgot were open. https://www.staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month

Cybersecurity Awareness Month empowers individuals and businesses to protect themselves. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance co-lead the global campaign every October!

10/13/2026

Small businesses use digital tools every day to offer discounts, reach customers, and compete.

A new RealClearMarkets op-ed looks at how broad rules around AI-driven pricing could unintentionally make some of those everyday promotions harder to offer.

Worth a read:

Never doubt the creativity of state and federal politicians when it comes to rescuing Americans from problems that do not exist or are vastly overblown, while working the public into a tizzy. A case i

10/07/2026

71% of regular AI users are more likely to choose an independent brand this year than last.

That’s one of the standout findings from Shopify’s 2026 Global Holiday Retail Report 🎁

AI is changing how consumers discover products and giving small businesses new ways to reach customers and compete. For small businesses heading into the holiday season, that could mean a meaningful new path to discovery and growth.

Worth a read from Shopify:

Learn how shoppers and businesses around the world will discover, compare, and buy this holiday season with Shopify's 2026 Global Holiday Retail Report.

10/05/2026

Calling all Bronx small business owners!

On October 16, 3C is bringing together Bronx small business leaders and local policymakers for a conversation about the digital tools businesses use every day to reach customers, offer discounts and promotions, and grow.

We're looking for Bronx-based businesses to join us and share their firsthand experiences directly with policymakers.

If you own or operate a small business in the Bronx, we'd love to have you at the table.

📍 Bronx, NY
📅 Friday, October 16
🕚 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Interested? Register here:

10/01/2026

For small businesses, every marketing dollar has to work harder.

Pennsylvania small business owner William Hillman knows that firsthand. Digital ads gave his carpentry business an affordable way to reach customers and compete. Now, he’s raising concerns that Pennsylvania’s proposed digital ad tax could make those same tools more expensive.

As lawmakers debate HB 1678, small business voices like Bill’s need to be part of the conversation.

Read his op-ed in the Reading Eagle.

A proposal in Harrisburg is more harmful than proponents make it seem.

10/01/2026

BIG win for Texas small businesses!

After nearly two years of sellers speaking out, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines is ending the state’s tax on online marketplace fees.

Small businesses made the case. They were heard. And now the policy is changing.

See what changed, and hear from the Texas sellers who helped make the case.

AUSTIN (Sept. 30, 2026) — Texas small business owners today applauded Comptroller Don Huffines for ending the state’s taxes on marketplace fees tied to sellers offering products on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Comptroller Huffines signed an executive order directing the Comptroller’s...

09/30/2026

BIG win for Texas small businesses!

After nearly two years of sellers speaking out, Texas Comptroller Don Huffines is ending the state’s tax on online marketplace fees.

Small businesses made the case. They were heard. And now the policy is changing.

See what changed, and hear from the Texas sellers who helped make the case.

AUSTIN (Sept. 30, 2026) — Texas small business owners today applauded Comptroller Don Huffines for ending the state’s taxes on marketplace fees tied to sellers offering products on platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Comptroller Huffines signed an executive order directing the Comptroller’s...

09/29/2026

If you sell online, some of the biggest decisions affecting your business are being made far outside your storefront.

In the next edition of Kristin Rae’s Seller Policy Insider, she’ll break down the policy fights shaping online selling, from pricing and marketplace rules to the growing push to regulate the digital tools sellers rely on every day.

The goal is simple: help sellers understand what’s changing, why it matters, and where their voices can make a difference.

Sign up to get the next edition coming out tomorrow, Sep. 30!