Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia’s new Digital Trade program and e-Commerce Accelerator initiative will provide practical skills in e-commerce to Pacific businesses.
The digital transformation of the trading landscape has been immense. Research recently released by Roy Morgan shows that over the year to March 2018, 46.8 per cent of Australians (9.46 million) brought something online in an average four-week period, an increase of 590,000 in just 12 months. This shift in purchasing behaviour opens exciting opportunities for businesses in the Pacific Islands to increase their reach and export sales through digital trade to Australia and the world.
Preliminary findings from PTI Australia’s – Pacific Island Export Survey show that only 36 per cent of companies surveyed have their own website, with 44 per cent of respondents raising concerns that their lack of digital expertise in business was a barrier to taking advantage of digital platforms.
The under-utilisation of e-commerce in the Pacific Islands has driven PTI Australia’s launch of their Digital Trade program, which follows the success of their Digital Tourism program that generated over A$10 million in export sales in 2017.
As part of PTI Australia’s Digital Trade program, PTI Australia will host e-Commerce Workshops across the Pacific Islands. The first PTI Australia e-Commerce Workshop will be held in Samoa on Wednesday, 10 October 2018. The workshop will provide practical advice and an overview of e-commerce.
PTI Australia’s e-Commerce Accelerator is an intense program providing the opportunity for Pacific Island export-ready businesses to learn and receive support in listing their products on the Amazon Australia website.
PTI Australia has partnered with Coach AMZ, an Australia and US based company that specialises in helping businesses and entrepreneurs launch their products on Amazon.
Jeremy Grennell, General Manager – Exports, PTI Australia, said that with Amazon now operating in Australia, it presents the ideal platform for Pacific exporters to sell directly to Australian consumers.
“We are really excited to be offering the e-Commerce Accelerator program. Amazon is the perfect fit. Amazon Australia will be offering Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), where Amazon delivers products from the Amazon Australia warehouse to their customers who have ordered from their website. FBA will be game changing for Pacific businesses because shipping in small quantities from the Pacific Islands can be very expensive. Having their products warehoused in Australia and being able to direct Australian customers to the Amazon store will be huge.”
PTI Australia’s e-Commerce Accelerator program is limited to 15 places. The selected Pacific export businesses will have their products listed on Amazon and have one-to-one access to the expertise of Coach AMZ to ensure their success on the platform is maximised.
Applications for PTI Australia’s e-Commerce Accelerator are open. An application form can be downloaded from PTI Australia website.
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27 June 2018
