E-COMMERCE
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EXPLORING THE E-COMMERCE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR LOCAL BUSINESS COMMUNITY The development of online services and e-commerce companies is on the rise throughout the world and generating billions annually. Most business owners in Curaçao have already created websites and made full use of social media outlets such as Instagram and Facebook, but only a handful of these merchants use e-commerce websites to sell and complete their sales online. With the expanding popularity of online retail sales, many forward-thinking entrepreneurs are exploring global e-commerce business opportunities. Curaçao merchants should be no exception, as they can benefit by expanding beyond our borders and looking past our small-scale economy to tap into these global markets.
WHAT IS E-COMMERCE? E-commerce (electronic commerce) is simply a means of conducting commercial transactions electronically on the internet, including credit card processing. E-commerce websites enable businesses
CURAÇAO BUSINESS | 2019
or freelancers to sell their products and services to customers all over the world. From a local perspective, business owners can sell their own products and fulfill their own orders for export. The local carrier, C-post offers express worldwide delivery at
reasonable rates for packages under 1 kg. Additionally, local entrepreneurs can work with a logistics company abroad who will handle all warehousing and fulfillment, (i.e. a fulfillment center). An alternative option is to sell a product via a dropshipper who