ONLINE SALES CAN PROVE TOUGH FOR SMALL SHOPS
CHICAGO — Two years ago, Esther Fishman shut down her clothing and gifts shop's online store.
Art Effect's brick-and-mortar business here was strong, and selling online seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
It seemed like the right call until this spring.
When the coronavirus pandemic forced all but essential retail stores to close, Art Effect rushed to get its online store back in business. Fishman since has hired a company to build a new, easier-to-use site.
Small neighborhood retailers used to compete with Amazon by catering to local shoppers who enjoy browsing in person. That's still true — but in the six months since the pandemic began, a growing number are venturing onto Amazon's turf.
Most say online sales are a long way from making up for sluggish in-store sales, and some struggled to shift businesses built for in-person shoppers online. Others say it's a service they can no longer afford to avoid, especially if a surge in cases forces stores to shut down again.
“The old world doesn't exist anymore. … We're training people now how easy it is to shop online. There are people who are not comfortable with that,
Texas universities are doing amazing research into clean energy generation, and it's beginning to change the world. What's needed now are more Texas investors and entrepreneurs.
A Silicon Valley startup called EnergyX entered a partnership last week with Nobel laureate John Goodenough at the University of Texas at Austin. They hope to develop a component for solid-state batteries from nanoparticles that would make batteries much more powerful.
EnergyX's high-performance membrane could serve as an integral part in the next generation of lithium-ion batteries. The membrane is made from a material derived by Benny Freeman, a professor at the Center for Materials in Water and Energy Systems, who also teaches at the University of Texas at Austin.
EnergyX's membrane could solve two of the biggest challenges facing electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage. The company is already using the membrane to expand lithium mining, another industry challenge.
“A lot of people are working on little pieces of this, and we are developing our technology to