“At the time we were just trying to help businesses that were affected by Helene,” said ShopWNC founder Leniece Lane. “There were people, not from our area, that were putting together similar sites trying to help as well, but it only captured part of what was needed and it just didn’t reflect our area. We decided we would put something together that not only featured the businesses but also reflected the heart and soul of our area.”

Traffic was strongest in the immediate aftermath of the storm. From October 8 through December 31, 2024, ShopWNC recorded 46,021 page views, more than 17,300 site sessions and 15,412 unique visitors. Visitors spent an average of nearly four and a half minutes on the site. North Carolina accounted for the largest share of traffic, but visitors also came from Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida.

Social media played a significant role in those early months, generating more than 5,500 visits, while direct traffic accounted for more than 6,300 and organic search generated nearly 3,000. More than 1,000 visits also came through VisitNC.com.

Lane, who owns a shop in Rutherfordton, does not have data showing how many of those visits resulted in purchases, calls or donations, in part because many participating businesses did not have analytics in place themselves.

“I would like to hope we had a significant impact then and feel strongly that it can continue to have a significant impact with a little sweat equity on our part to add to the platform,” she said.

As Lane and other volunteers built ShopWNC, they also discovered a longer-term challenge for the region’s retailers: Many businesses had no way for customers to purchase from them online.

“When they are closed at their physical location, there isn't a way to support them,” Lane said.

That became especially apparent following Helene, when some businesses were unable to reopen their storefronts for weeks or months. 

“Many probably don’t realize that an online store is possible within their existing POS system at no extra cost,” she said. “That’s why our focus now is on education and training through the platform to try and help them put these things into place if it’s something they want to offer.”

Lane understands that e-commerce is not the right fit for every independent retailer. But she believes Helene changed some owners’ thinking about the value of having another way to reach customers when their physical location is inaccessible.

That lesson is now shaping the future of ShopWNC.

The platform currently lists 930 businesses in 52 Western North Carolina communities, with only a handful of new listings since the initial Helene recovery period. Even so, people continue to find it. ShopWNC recorded 7,310 page views and more than 3,300 unique visitors in 2025. Through August 13, 2026, it had generated another 1,645 page views and nearly 1,000 unique visitors.

The way visitors reach the site has also shifted. While social media drove thousands of visits immediately following Helene, organic search has become the dominant source of traffic in 2026, accounting for 836 visits through August 13. That continued search traffic, despite minimal promotion, is part of what gives Lane confidence that the site could become a more permanent regional resource.

Plans include creating videos and tutorials to help retailers develop online stores with minimal investment and launching ShopWNC social media channels to highlight participating businesses and remind consumers that the directory exists. Lane said the group is also working behind the scenes with a company interested in developing a more robust platform.

She is also working with a local nonprofit that she hopes will eventually take over ShopWNC, which she originally launched as an individual volunteer project.

The experience has given Lane a broader view of Western North Carolina’s retail sector, both its vulnerabilities and its strengths.

“We are a strongly bonded community with deep roots and empathy for our neighbors,” she said. “WNC has a lot to offer. More than locals like me that were born here even realize.”

For Lane, the pressures facing independent retailers are personal. Her own store, Impulse Art Shop, escaped physical damage from Helene and did not have to close, but the economic fallout still took a toll.

“We barely made it through last year and we didn’t even have damage or have to close our doors,” she said. “I can only imagine what it was like for others who lost weeks or months.”

What began as an emergency effort to direct dollars toward businesses recovering from a disaster could now evolve into something more enduring: a tool for helping Western North Carolina retailers become easier to find, easier to support and better prepared for future disruptions.