E-commerce has now become a main form of sales in regional transactions. However, despite its popularity across the islands, smaller to medium businesses cannot always afford to develop and maintain an e-commerce website. However, online marketplaces in the Caribbean are bridging this gap. They provide small and medium businesses with the ability to sell online, facilitate timely deliveries and ultimately help enable their growth.
Here are some of the Benefits of Using an Online Marketplace in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica:
1. The Marketplace Handles the Logistics
An online marketplace gives businesses the online infrastructure to sell online. Meaning they handle the website interface, secure online payments, manage SEO for the website and more. Therefore, businesses just have to provide photos, product descriptions and a list of their inventory to start. After that, the company can then process orders and prepare them for delivery. This simple process for small to medium businesses is a huge pro as it allows the owners or workers of the company to save a lot of time while still ensuring a convenient service for the customer.
2. Gain the Many of the Benefits of E-Commerce
Online marketplaces still offer businesses the various benefits of operating an e-commerce website, such as:
- Safe and contactless transactions
- Quick and convenient transactions
- Can Increase Sales
- Quicker sales process for the business
Marketplaces offer businesses these benefits all while providing an easy-to-use experience for the merchants.
3. Some Caribbean Marketplaces Can Sell to International Customers
Some regional marketplaces like Caribshopper, allow companies in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica to sell their products to customers in the United States. Services like this are an enormous benefit to SMEs as it facilitates growth and allows the company to reach the very large market segment of the Caribbean diaspora in the US. Often companies in the region struggle to facilitate international e-commerce sales due to a variety of factors, however, services like Caribshopper handle the delivery and transactions between Trinbagonian and Jamaican companies and their US customers. A service that otherwise would be quite tasking for SME’s.
This blog is based on a discussion with Kadion Preston from CaribShopper from the FACLive show. You can watch the interview here.
First Atlantic Commerce provides online payment solutions and international credit card processing for merchants and banks in the Caribbean and Central America. Our services allow merchants to accept and process credit and debit card payments online! Learn more about our online payment solutions and how you can implement it on your website today!