Restaurants, retail stores and personal care businesses in New Jersey will be getting help from the state’s economic authority to continue to operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority announced on Wednesday launched the E-Commerce Technical Assistance Program to help businesses that normally rely on foot traffic and in-person deals develop the tools they need to stay in businesses while complying with the state’s current health and safety guidelines.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has required many storefront businesses that are used to relying on foot traffic and in-person transactions to quickly shift to a more virtual business model. This can be an overwhelming and expensive proposition at a moment when business owners are short on both money and time,” NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan, who serves as a co-chair of New Jersey’s COVID-19 Restart and Recovery Advisory Council, said. “The three agencies we have contracted have the expertise to help businesses quickly and confidently pivot to a model that will allow them to remain viable while keeping their customers and employees safe.”
In May, Gov. Phil Murphy created the Restart and Recovery Commission to guide the state’s economic recovery caused by the coronavirus. Drawing on insights the commission found, the EDA came up with this program to provide services including design and implementing electronic ordering systems, processing payments and booking appointments for training purposes. In addition to supporting clients, New Jersey-based marketing firms Hudson Integrated, Positive Solutions and Suasion Communications Group were retained by the EDA to help with the program.
