A new service has joined the battle to get small Irish businesses online, offering a simple ecommerce platform.
Samm.ie is aimed at less tech-savvy SME owners and managers, allowing businesses to get online within minutes.
“It allows small businesses to create a website that is easy to build and manage, that is SEO- and mobile-optimised,” said Samm.ie’s chief executive, Niall O’Neill.
To prove its simplicity, the company conducted its own Pepsi challenge, setting up a business on its platform and on Facebook, head to head. Samm.ie came out on top, said Mr O'Neill, with the site up and running in a shorter period of time and also with the ability to sell online built-in. It is offering a 30-day trial of the service to companies who want to try selling to a global market.
The company also has its own online marketplace, similar to Amazon’s model, providing businesses with the ability to offer local delivery and click-and-collect services to their customers. Potential customers will be able to search the Samm.ie listings for the products they require and get a list of suppliers in their local area and further afield.
“It’s like a search engine, with the ability to buy,” said Mr O’Neill.
Outdoor events
Samm.ie also provides electronic point of sale functionality, which allows small traders to sell at outdoor events such as as craft fairs and markets.
Although there are plenty of tools available to get companies online, with firms such as Wix, Shopify and Pointy offering ways to get up and running for relatively little investment, Samm.ie is pitching its product at those who want something even simpler.
There have been a number of initiatives to encourage small Irish businesses to get online, including the IE Domain Registry’s “Optimise” fund. Research carried out by the registry last year found 90 per cent of Irish businesses couldn’t process sales online and 60 per cent could not take orders over the internet.
A survey conducted in 2014 by UPC (now Virgin Media) estimated the amount Irish consumers will spend online by 2020 will be in the region of €12.7 billion. But it also found a large portion of that spend was going outside the country.
“If Irish businesses don’t start selling online, they’re losing out on the opportunity,” said Mr O’Neill.
Samm.ie is seeking to raise more than €1 million to help expand its business. Initially bootstrapped, the company has been funded from the founder's own funds, friends and family chipping in, and some support from local enterprise boards and Enterprise Ireland.
