The Rise of E-Commerce in the Caribbean

Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean by extension is well known for tourism, whether it is through our beautiful beaches, warm weather, delicious food, dynamic mix of cultures or our Carnival, we are synonymous with a good time. Since time is money, we are also known for many other business sectors, such as oil and gas, agriculture or even manufacturing. Two years ago, everything seemed to be coming along fine until COVID-19 struck. As the global pandemic intensified a major consequence resulted in forced lockdowns around the world, and tourism in areas like the Caribbean collapsed.

But what’s that saying? You can’t keep a good man down, in this case- you can’t keep a good industry down. In fact we now have rapid growth in some aspects of tourism through the E-commerce industry which was ignited by COVID.

To take us through the rise of the E-commerce industry in the Caribbean, Host Kristee Kalisingh spoke to Mr Keron Rose, Digital and E-commerce Strategist or as he is fondly known in the industry as the DigiBoss. 

1. What is E-Commerce?

Keron: Electronic Commerce or E-Commerce is any transaction which happens digitally, any digital transaction fall under E-Commerce.  

1. What are some of the advantages to an organization?

Keron: You earn nationwide money and you’re not limited to people having to physically come to you.  Let us take today for example, it has been flooding all over, I went to do some shopping, they were closed due to roads, being flooded. But you know who made money today? Everybody with an e-commerce business because we can sit down from home and shop. E-commerce also extends the business hours of your business. Most people are shopping early in the morning, late at night or maybe while they’re on their lunch break. Right now, with e-commerce you can shop at any point in time and you can be earning currency 24/7, 365 days per year. No employee works better than your website.

1. What are some of the best E-Commerce tools available to us in the Caribbean?

Keron: One of the main components for e-commerce to work is – number one the customers need to have a credit card or Visa debit card. If the customers don’t have a way to pay you on your website then, that should be remedied. Almost every website is mobile responsive or at least it should be. The third component is the payment process so your business utilizes anyone of the Caribbean payment processors. 

1. What are the different E-Commerce business models?

• Business to Consumer (B2C) – Business to consumer (B2C) is when a company markets its products or services directly to end users. It is the most widely known form of commerce. B2C E-Commerce is fairly straightforward. You complete a B2C transaction every time you purchase food from a grocery store, eat dinner at a restaurant, watch a movie at a theater, and get a haircut. You are the end user of the products and services these companies sell.

• Business to Business (B2B) – Business to business (B2B) is when a company markets its products or services directly to other businesses. B2B E-Commerce can be broken down into two methodologies, vertical and horizontal. Vertically oriented businesses sell to customers within a specific industry. With a horizontal approach, you are selling to customers across a myriad of industries.  

• Business to Government (B2G) – Business to government (B2G) is when a company markets its products and services directly to a government agency. This agency could be a local, county, state, or federal agency.

• Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) – In B2B2C E-Commerce, a company sells products to another company which are then sold to consumers. An example of a B2B2C arrangement is when a wholesale distributor sells merchandise to retail stores that then sell the merchandise to end users. The B2B2C model is comprised of three parts: the first business (the business of product origin), an intermediary, and the end user.

• Consumer to Consumer (C2C) – In the C2B E-Commerce business model, individuals sell goods and services directly to companies. We see this most commonly in websites that allow individuals (contractors or freelancers) to share work or services they’re skilled in. Often, businesses will put in a request or a bid for that person’s time and will pay the person through that platform

• Consumer to Business (C2B) – In C2C ecommerce, consumers sell goods or services directly to other consumers. This is most often made possible by third-party websites or marketplaces, that facilitate transactions on behalf of the buyers and sellers.