Real-world ecommerce experience, built locally and refined through execution.
Selling online is easy. Sustaining it is not.
Trinidad & Tobago has made strong progress in e-commerce, but the local Amazon is looking for a merchant to step up to the plate. We’ve designed, launched, and maintained stores across retail, wholesale, and hybrid models—helping businesses navigate payments, logistics, and long-term operational realities from our long experience.
The E-Commerce Landscape
in Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean
The E-Commerce Reality in Trinidad & Tobago
It is fair to say that E-Commerce in Trinidad & Tobago is doing generally well and has been growing over the past few years. Trinis don’t have to be sold on the concept; for both merchants and customers, online shopping in T&T is a very natural part of our daily lives.
With the availability of multiple payment gateways (5 at the moment), local couriers, and there have long been available platforms like WooCommerce and Shopify, the technical end of the process needs no more figuring out— a fully functioning online store can be up and running like an afterthought. Smaller operations are comfortable selling online without a website at all, through messaging and online bank transfers.
Many online stores technically “work”, but underperform because they were not designed with optimal conversion, usability, and operations in mind. Trinis are also still very cautious about using their credit cards online, and some prefer to use online stores as a catalog to do their research before visiting the store in person. But overall, online shopping in T&T is going about its business like it’s nobody’s business.
Why Many Online Stores Underperform
Online retail in Trinidad & Tobago has matured a bit— expectations have changed. Trinis are more comfortable buying online, comparing prices, checking delivery options, and engaging brands digitally before making purchasing decisions.
In the past, just basic ecommerce functionality was acceptable, but now Trini’s want more than just functionality, they want a more selling oriented online shopping experience. Many online stores in T&T suffer the same fate as regular websites— lack of attention.
Shoppers now expect, clear product information, fast loading pages, mobile-friendly checkout, order fulfillment communication, trust signals and professionalism— a big ask given Trini mentality.
Online stores that feel unfinished, confusing, or unreliable quickly lose credibility and sales.
Another deficiency is the marketing and promotion of online stores’ existence, not to mention deals and promos, which all contribute to underperformance.
The Online Store Design Market Today
There is a generally robust supply of small to medium web design service providers in T&T that offer online store design at low cost. These will tend to be stores on the more functional side, not particularly pretty to look at, which don’t require heavy technical expertise. These stores tend to be more basic, and ‘templatey’ in look and feel.
To pull off a large online store with 5,000-10,000 products and over, is more in the realm of larger, more experienced companies, of which there are handful of players locally. Higher technical skill is required for first class design, payment and delivery integrations, point of sale syncs, extended features, performance tuning and security. Note, one of the largest online stores we’ve designed and manage, Almandoz Hardware in Tobago, has an in-stock product catalog of 15,000 products.
Our Approach: Online stores as revenue systems, not just websites
At Forward Multimedia, we design and develop online stores with real-world retail behavior in mind. Our focus is not just getting a store online, but ensuring it is:
- Easy for customers to browse and buy
- Easy for owners to manage and update
- Flexible enough to support promotions, seasons, and growth
- Supported long-term through maintenance and optimization
We combine strategic design, WooCommerce expertise, AI-assisted content preparation, and ongoing care to ensure online stores don’t just launch — they perform and evolve.
Current
E-Commerce Trends
In 2026, the strongest-performing online stores focus on conversion efficiency, operational simplicity, and customer trust, while selectively adopting new tools where they add real value.
Types of
Online Stores
Physical + Online or Online Only
Businesses with an existing physical presence already have products, customers, and brand awareness — which provides a strong foundation for launching online.
However, moving online is not automatic success. Pricing, fulfillment, promotions, and customer behavior change in the digital space. Our role is to help bridge that gap so your online store complements your physical operation instead of complicating it.
Then there are online-first stores are built specifically for digital commerce. While they may not start with an existing customer base, they often benefit from lower overheads, faster experimentation, and greater flexibility.
Success here depends heavily on presentation, clarity, trust, and consistency — which is where strong design and structured setup matter most.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Physical + Online
Online Only Stores
Built for Distributors, Dealers & Trade Customers
Wholesale online stores operate very differently from standard retail e-commerce. Pricing visibility, customer access, ordering workflows, and approvals all require tighter control and more advanced configuration.
Forward Multimedia designs wholesale platforms that support multiple customer tiers, private pricing, and quote-based ordering, while maintaining a clean and intuitive user experience.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Selling Services, Appointments & Digital Products
Not all online stores sell physical products. Many businesses offer services, bookings, memberships, or digital products — and the underlying e-commerce framework remains largely the same.
These platforms require specialized configurations to manage availability, scheduling, and customer flow, while keeping the experience simple for users.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Physical + Online or Online Only
Businesses with an existing physical presence already have products, customers, and brand awareness — which provides a strong foundation for launching online.
However, moving online is not automatic success. Pricing, fulfillment, promotions, and customer behavior change in the digital space. Our role is to help bridge that gap so your online store complements your physical operation instead of complicating it.
Then there are online-first stores are built specifically for digital commerce. While they may not start with an existing customer base, they often benefit from lower overheads, faster experimentation, and greater flexibility.
Success here depends heavily on presentation, clarity, trust, and consistency — which is where strong design and structured setup matter most.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Physical + Online
Online Only Stores
Built for Distributors, Dealers & Trade Customers
Wholesale online stores operate very differently from standard retail e-commerce. Pricing visibility, customer access, ordering workflows, and approvals all require tighter control and more advanced configuration.
Forward Multimedia designs wholesale platforms that support multiple customer tiers, private pricing, and quote-based ordering, while maintaining a clean and intuitive user experience.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Selling Services, Appointments & Digital Products
Not all online stores sell physical products. Many businesses offer services, bookings, memberships, or digital products — and the underlying e-commerce framework remains largely the same.
These platforms require specialized configurations to manage availability, scheduling, and customer flow, while keeping the experience simple for users.
Typical Use Cases & Features:
Technologies
Woo Commerce is the most popular shopping cart in the world and has held that position for years. Here in Trinidad & Tobago, the choice of platforms depends on your long term goals.
WordPress can handle thousands of products, very customizable, and integrates with our major payment gateways. The Woo Commerce plug-in adds the shopping cart to any WordPress website. So if you already have a WordPress site, then adding the shop feature is easy.
AI-Assisted
Content & Development
We use AI as a support tool to help online stores launch faster, present products more clearly, and maintain consistency across large catalogs. AI allows us to fill gaps, visualize products in real-world contexts, and keep stores looking active while awaiting final assets — all under human review and creative control.
AI is never a replacement for your brand, products, or strategy. It is used selectively to improve efficiency, enhance presentation, and support ongoing store development.
Online Payment
Methods & Delivery
Gateways & Aggregators
Local payment methods available to accept online payments
First Atlantic Commerce (FAC)
First Atlantic Commerce is a Bermuda based payment gateway provider and has been working in Trinidad & Tobago for more than 15 years.
Fast forward to today, and FAC is offered at all local banks.
Scotiabank eCom+
This is Scotiabank’s own payment gateway introduced in 2022. It works same way as FAC, requiring a merchant account. It integrates with WooCommerce and Shopify. Of course, It’s only available at Scotiabank.
Scotiabank Ecom+
Fygaro is a Latin American based e-commerce platform that allows credit card payments from WooCommerce with direct settlement to your bank account in Trinidad & Tobago. Sign up is via the Fygaro site which is followed by sign up through your local bank. WiPay & PayWise are both local aggregators (following PayPal model), which have WooCommerce plug-ins.
Local & International Deliveries
Domestic, inter-island and international delivery couriers
CSF Domestic Delivery allows merchants to ship packages anywhere in Trinidad and Tobago. CSF also offers the CSF Connect API, which allows online stores to integrate directly with their delivery service (custom work).
oDeliver is a local delivery platform that helps businesses manage last-mile deliveries across Trinidad. oDeliver works well for businesses that want reliable, trackable deliveries as part of a professional e-commerce experience.
International Deliveries
The ‘Big 3’ major carriers do not come pre-integrated as shipping methods on the Woo Commerce platform. Pre-integrated means is that once you have an account with them, configuring your online store to connect it is as easy as filling out the required fields in the shipping settings in the back-end of your store.
The sticking point however is that shipping rates from these international carriers are fetched in USD which means your online store’s base currency also has to be USD.
Powering online sales for retail and wholesale brands
