A website that was created to give users a new kind of user experience in terms of online services will be launched on Saturday, February 15.

Local entrepreneur Ronnie Wong Soon, who created the website www.pisinisisamoa.com to give users in Samoa a new online shopping experience, said their objective is to make it convenient for the shopper.

“People do not realize that they are spending too much on products that we can ship at a lower price,” he said. “The whole idea behind the website is to create a convenient way of shopping and shipping.”

Mr Soon is an information technology technician at the Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A.) and also competed in the 2019 Samoa Youth Co-Lab. His participation in the Youth Co-Lab gave him the impetus to create the website.

There are other companies in Samoa that offer similar services, he added, but the product type and shipping differs to what they can offer. 

“Such as car parts and Crowd Funds or Go Fund Me websites and many others. New Zealand company Kut Snakes being their official seller helped provide orders for car parts that other websites fail to provide. They have managed to ship from New Zealand, Australia, America, China and Taiwan,” he said.

Mr Soon said those with VISA cards have easier access than those using Mtala by Bluesky and Digicel Mobile money, as online payments are made more difficult due to the absence of a payment gateway.

“It is a rough start because Samoa does not have a payment gateway and specific addresses for the ordered products. The website pisinisisamoa.com is already live but the official launching is on the 15th Feb 2020,” he said. “An ecommerce business is not often used or common in Samoa and because of this, meeting personally is more preferable for the customers.”

The entrepreneur is hoping to get the attention of bigger companies and the Government before the launching of Samoa’s first payment gateway.

“Online buying and shopping saves you time, money and energy and having a payment gateway for overseas shipping will definitely reduce the hassle.”

Mr Soon also appealed to students studying information technology to study how websites are made as it can generate revenue over the long-term.