As small business owners continue the fight of their lives, M&T Bank is trying to give them a boost. M&T Bank is featuring more than a dozen of its Baltimore-area, small business clients on an online retail shop designed to lure new and existing customers to the businesses’ websites during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The virtual "Spotlight Shop," which launched on Aug. 19, is an adaption of the physical retail space M&T sponsored in downtown Baltimore last year that drew interest from office workers and tourists walking along Pratt Street. Last year 12 small businesses rotated through the shop every two weeks. This year, the virtual Spotlight Shop will be available to customers throughout the fall and already includes links to 15 businesses. Augie Chiasera, president of the Greater Baltimore-Chesapeake region for Buffalo-based M&T, said he hope to see that number climb to 20 or 25. Visitors can support the businesses by making online purchases.