NY, USA, 11th May 2026, ZEX PR WIRE — A growing share of small U.S. e-commerce sellers are reallocating marketing budget away from paid social platforms and toward earned media coverage, citing rising ad costs and the diminished targeting precision that followed Apple’s 2021 App Tracking Transparency changes. The shift has been particularly visible among independent merchants operating on Shopify, the e-commerce platform that hosts a substantial portion of small online retailers across the United States.
BuzzBlast, a U.S. public relations firm, focuses on press placement for small Shopify-based businesses — a segment historically underserved by traditional PR agencies that prioritize venture-funded brands and larger retail clients.
“There’s a real coverage gap in this space,” said John, Chief Editor of BuzzBlast. “A small candle maker in Ohio or a coffee roaster in Nevada has just as compelling a story as a venture-backed brand, but they don’t have a fifty-thousand-dollar PR retainer to make it heard. We built our practice around helping those founders earn press they can actually afford.”
The firm works with merchants across categories including food and beverage, apparel, beauty, home goods and gifting, helping them secure coverage in lifestyle, trade and local press. Many of the firm’s clients are first-time founders or family-run operations launching products without in-house communications staff.
Industry observers have noted a widening communications gap between well-funded direct-to-consumer brands and the broader population of small online sellers. While larger e-commerce companies routinely retain agencies for product launches and brand campaigns, smaller merchants typically rely on word-of-mouth and paid advertising — channels that have become increasingly cost-prohibitive as platforms like Meta and Google have raised ad rates and tightened targeting capabilities.
BuzzBlast’s pricing model and client mix are oriented around that gap. The firm builds release campaigns and media outreach for owners running stores generating modest annual revenue, rather than the seven- and eight-figure brands that dominate larger agency rosters.
Small merchants face particular challenges getting reporters’ attention, both because of the volume of pitches landing in journalists’ inboxes daily and because newsroom contractions have reduced the number of writers covering small business and independent retail. Firms specializing in the segment have begun developing relationships with editors at regional outlets, lifestyle publications and trade press where small-merchant stories tend to find traction.
The shift toward earned media among small online retailers has also been driven by changes in consumer behavior, with shoppers increasingly relying on editorial coverage, product reviews and founder stories when evaluating independent brands.
CONTACT: For more information BuzzBlast at https://www.thebuzzblast.com.
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