E-Commerce in Trinidad & Tobago- Ready to Rumble

Yes I thought the day would never come soon enough, the day we would have a payment gateway available for online business in Trinidad & Tobago. But as you are aware, it had already come a while ago through Scotiabank yet that’s not the day I’m talking about, and I’ll hold my tongue on the reasons why that is.

You see, in the long run things eventually catch up and work out. It’s the short run that hamstrings and frustrates. But it happened and is happening before our eyes:

Before- there weren’t many local websites… there are now
Before- there weren’t many Trini’s online… there are now, and growing
Before- there weren’t many local online stores… there are now
Before- there wasn’t local legislation to govern E-Commerce… now there’s the Electronic Transaction Act
Before- there wasn’t a local payment gateway… we got one (albeit limited access), through Scotiabank
Before- there was one local payment gateway… now we have two, enter FCB
Before- there were NO local online store giving the true US experience… now we have The London Clothing Company

The first true online store in Trinidad & Tobago

No because I built it but because it’s true. Business-owners who are 100% committed and totally involved in their website’s development in T&T is very rare indeed. It takes a lot to stay focused and often things start out hot and heavy and eventually cool off as distractions of day to day operations creep in.

But not London Clothing, I have to give the owners full credit for staying the course and realizing the first part of their vision: “a site that looks like it’s not from T&T”. And what’s the second part? Making it a runaway success of course.

A bona fide online store

A local payment solution has always been the final piece of the puzzle in my opinion. Technically the final piece of the puzzle would be the eventual full proclamation of the Electronic Transaction Act (so far it’s only half), but I’m referring to the essential moving parts that comprise an online store, all of which The London Clothing site has.

Site already shipping orders

Through a series of email newsletters and paid Facebook ads the site was launched and I was on hand for post-launch support to process the first set orders via the website’s Magento E-Commerce platform. As I write this, there are many customers who’ve already received their orders the way e-commerce nature intended, and I’m sure that felt good!

E-Commerce Learning Curve

Shopping season is around the corner so now’s the best time to start that learning curve. New website, new platform, new gateway– it can never go as smooth as we want it. But to follow from my opening list, I’ll soon be adding: “BEFORE we were feeling our way around running an online store… now it’s like an old shoe”.

More Magento Sites Coming

Right now I’m working on two (2) Magento stores set to launch within the next month or two.

1. TnT Bamboo Online

What a runaway success from it’s inception in 2011, it’s Trinidad’s only used parts ‘sourcer’ who saves you the headache of having to go to the Bamboo yourself. Today, TnT Bamboo Online has strategic partners in many Caribbean islands and ships regionally.

What keeps this company ahead of the game is a unique knowledge of the local and regional market and its reputation of honesty and ethical business operations– a hard thing to beat.

At my behest, I encouraged the owner to move away from the hosted shopping cart of Big Commerce and switch to Magento because I saw it to be the best way to move the online business to the next level. The TnT Bamboo Online Magento store will open soon.

2. An ‘Amazon’ type store

I get inquires for such this all the time but few have the commitment and financial wherewithal to even make a start. It’s a good thing in my opinion as Trinis tend to be a little more serious when their money is ‘jumping up’. I have a nice multi-department online store in the works that’s coming along very nicely, and will be ready soon.

Magento E-Commerce Platform is not cheap

That’s for good reason and it’s because it’s a LOT OF WORK. I don’t necessarily mean technical work of web design, but I’ve realized it’s more along the lines of PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

Designing an E-Commerce website is not a one-man job because I can’t do it all. Many elements require coordinating other parties– the gateway provider, the bank, the payment integrator, third party developers, graphic designers, marketing agents and more. This means many phone calls, many international calls, many emails, many Skype sessions which make me feel like I’m working sometime.

Often these parties are around the world (that’s why the world wide web is so great), and often I have to be up at wee hours to communicate (that’s one drawback with the time zones), but that’s how you build a great website. Not many would be so invested in their client’s project to do what I do to make sure a great website gets delivered.

E-Commerce in T&T- ready to rumble

As the last sane man in Trinidad, I’ve been screaming that local E-Commerce is the next big thing and you better jump on. The stars have aligned and the chess pieces are positioned on the board. It’s time to make your move.

There’s only one of me

Last July (2013) I reported a paradigm shift in the local website landscape and to date it will be a full year that it’s being sustained. There has been no let up and I’ve not been short of work. Being that the E-Commerce sleeping giant has woken up and stretching, I’ll be focusing on these projects but I won’t be abandoning regular business websites.

My personal attention is my selling point as I absolutely know what I’m doing, so take this as an encouragement for you to stop sitting on the fence as more work means longer lead times for site delivery. Of course I don’t want to drive you to my competitors, and hopefully you won’t because of my next point…

My online stores will dominate local E-Commerce

Eventually there’ll be more competing stores from other local web designers but I already have a plan for that, and yes, I’m even going to say what it is. I plan to make all my online stores totally dominate the marketplace in both Trinidad & Tobago and the Caribbean. How? Come closer and I’ll tell you… closer… closer…

Conclusion

It’s time to go brave. Whether you’re an individual with a grand plan, or an established business ready to take the plunge, there are more reasons to say there is no time like the present. In the next 3 to 5 years you’ll be glad you did it this year.

July 17, 2014 / Articles, E-Commerce, Featured Posts, Hot Topics

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About the Author

admin

I am Zaf Rahaman, owner of Forward Multimedia Ltd, a Trinidad based digital agency now in our 13th year. Through my experience acquired on the ground since 2011, I’ve become known as one of the foremost authorities in E-Commerce, especially as it pertains to Trinidad & Tobago.

I began writing blog articles on various topics after observing the lack of online information about local E-Commerce. These articles quickly propelled the Forward Multimedia to the number one position on Google for all major industry keywords, a position consistently held since without challenge.

In 2018 I was an invited panelist in the annual Trinidad and Tobago Internet Governance Forum. Also in 2018 I was an invited speaker for the launch of the Virtual Caribbean DNS Entrepreneurship Center (VDECC) an initiative of ICANN- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the international body that that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS) worldwide.

I was also a stakeholder consultant for the Ministry of Trade & Industry’s National E-Commerce Policy which was passed in December 2018, with many of my recommendations making it to the final policy.

Most of all, I love to write AND love to write on everything website and E-Commerce related to help business owners in Trinidad & Tobago get the most out of their online presence.

ALL articles and pages on my site are written by me, in my voice, from the ground up, and for you, from a Trini perspective, using local examples and applications.

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