Prudence N. Barnes, Contributor
E-Biz Centre customer service operation at Worthington Terrace, New Kingston, St. Andrew in May. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
AS THE e-commerce revolution moves into high gear, an increasing number of Jamaicans are embracing online shopping.
With the growing deluge of clothing, books, computers, and other items flowing through this new conduit, the island's international inbound couriers are reporting a significant increase in business. This business is being driven by the greater sophistication of the Jamaican shopper, the availability and access to credit cards, more confidence in the security of on-line shopping, and the exposure to foreign items through cable television and the Internet itself.
Mark Gonzales, general manager of Mail Pac Services Limited, said the couriers are driving on-line shopping by facilitating the whole process from purchase to delivery.
RAPID GROWTH
The expansion in the sector has been "tremendous," observed Gonzales. He noted that Mail Pac Service, which was officially established in 1997, has seen "rapid growth" over the past two years, citing an approximate 90 per cent increase in its clientele over a two-year period. "More and more Jamaicans are logging on to this type of service, and we are now moving thousands of packages per week," he added.
Mail Pac Services Limited on Old Hope Road and the E-Biz Centre on Worthington Avenue are two of the major players in the growing industry who make it more convenient for persons to receive air freighted goods from overseas within a short time, with cost savings, while removing the hassle and the often time-consuming customs clearance process.
Customers pay an annual registration/membership fee to sign up with the courier company. The companies provide clients with a U.S. mailing address. Goods ordered on-line or purchased by third parties overseas may be sent to this U.S. address and air freighted to Jamaica by the courier company, where they are cleared by the courier company and delivered to the customer or picked up at the courier's business offices. When the goods arrive, clients pay custom charges, GCT and local handling.
Carolyn Aikman and Denise Leander-Watson, two of the directors at the E-Biz Centre, a four-year-old company providing similar international in-bound courier services to Mail Pac, said they too have seen a significant rise in clientele, pointing to an increase in registration of new clients in the range of some 30 per cent in 2004, over the previous year.
Aikman and Leander-Watson attributed this growth in the sector to the ability of companies like theirs to provide a "painless and hassle-free e-commerce experience."
They pointed out that the Internet provides a huge marketplace for persons who want to compare shops and get hard-to-find items or raw material for businesses.
WORLD IS YOUR MARKET
"When you shop online the world is your market," declared Leander-Watson, recalling a client who was searching for an out-of-print book of a renowned Jamaican writer, and who could not find the item in any local stores, but had better luck on-line.
Sites, such as Amazon.Com; Buy.Com; Victoria's Secret; Chadwicks; Gap; Old Navy; Nordstrom and JCPenny, are some of the most popular on-line locations with Jamaican shoppers, according to the couriers.
"Once upon a time, when individuals wanted something from abroad, they would probably ask a relative or friend to purchase it and send it to Jamaica with someone who is visiting, and it would take a long time," said Aikman. Now persons can go on-line and shop, and the things are delivered to them within a short time. The convenience of these services is also critical, as some on-line vendors do not deliver outside of the United States.
Nevertheless, it is the owners and operators of businesses who are heralding the service as a breakthrough.
Garth Hinchcliffe, chief operations officer of Manpower and Maintenance Services Limited, a 15-year-old company involved in facilities management including maintenance, janitorial and landscaping services, disclosed that his company's association with the E-Biz Centre has eliminated a "tremendous amount of hassle" of doing business, in particular, dealing with the importation of raw material and equipment.
SOURCE GOODS
"In my business, I need a whole host of supplies which are not available in Jamaica. In the past, I had to travel overseas to source the goods. This involved spending time and money for air travel and shopping around. I had to then ship the goods. When it arrived in Jamaica, I had to deal with the whole customs process," Mr. Hinchcliffe stated.
Now, he pointed out, he just sources the goods on-line, orders them, and E-Biz collects the goods in Miami, ships it to Jamaica and clears it and delivers. "I save on air fare, hotel cost and the time of physically shopping around," he said.
Dainsworth Richards, a director of Prospecto Grafixx, who uses Mail Pac's services and whose business is involved in convention planning and designs for trade shows, said that the process of shipping goods for business is "now a seamless exercise," compared to in the past.
Richards who shops on-line for tools and equipment, art supplies, stationery and other material for his business, also stated that having all his shipping needs handled by Mail Pac adds to the company's productivity, as he and his partners do not have to waste valuable productive time dealing with the time-consuming process of customs clearance, or the time and cost associated with air travel.
ON-LINE SHOPPING UP
While statistics on-line activity for Jamaica could not be found, the Computerworld on-line site that tracks and reports on technology trends, in a December 2004 report, observed that on-line shopping in the United States was up almost 50 per cent (December 13 to 17) over the same period of the year before. This was attributed to shorter shipping times and increased consumer confidence.
However, despite a greater level of confidence with the security of on-line shopping, some persons are still uneasy about the exposure from disclosing financial information on-line and the local Consumer Affairs Commission has prepared tips to help persons prevent credit card fraud and
identify theft.
In this regard, international couriers are also playing their role. The E-Biz Centre said it makes recommendations to clients about credible sites, and also purchases items using its own credit cards for customers who are not comfortable with divulging credit card information on-line. The client, in turn, reimburses the company.
Some assurances also come from people's confidence that packages can be tracked on-line up until the time it is delivered in Jamaica, a service Mail Pac says it provides.
