The case for a custom e-commerce platform in Gizo
Gizo is a commercial centre in Solomon Islands where around 7,177 people live and shop, and one of the places where we build custom e-commerce platforms for local businesses.
Western Province capital — a business base that increasingly wants to sell online rather than through calls, messages and spreadsheets.
Commerce in the Solomon Islands is concentrated in Honiara, with demand rising as mobile coverage improves. Order-and-collect models are practical.
Shoppers and trade buyers in Gizo already compare options on their phones; a custom e-commerce platform that loads fast, shows accurate stock and accepts Visa and Mastercard turns that research into orders.
What makes a Gizo store feel local
A store that works in Gizo respects local habits as well as local law. These are the details we configure first.
Currency and pricing
The store speaks Solomon Islands dollar: SBD amounts from product page to invoice, so Gizo buyers never convert in their heads.
Language and content
Content can be produced in English and Solomon Islands Pijin, so a Gizo customer reads the store in the language they use at home.
Local trust signals
Badges for Visa and Mastercard and bank transfer, Solomon Post delivery and clear return terms reassure first-time buyers in Gizo.
Domain, phone and contact
Using .sb where it suits you signals a local business to shoppers and search engines. Click-to-call and WhatsApp buttons use the +677 calling code so customers reach you without dialling errors.
A custom e-commerce platform built around your Gizo business
We do not hand Gizo businesses a ready-made theme: we study how you sell, then build the online platform and Android/iOS app your customers and staff actually need.
Typical clients include multi-brand groups, businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms, companies migrating legacy stores and regulated sectors. Categories that sell especially well online in the Solomon Islands — groceries, phones, hardware and fashion — get catalogue structures and filters designed for them.
We start with a requirements meeting, show you a working demo within 24 hours, and only then propose scope, milestones and budget.
Core modules we build for Gizo clients
Nothing here is fixed: modules are switched on, reshaped or built from scratch around how your Gizo business sells.
Custom workflows
Product configurators, made-to-order flows, approvals, contracts and industry-specific rules. Stock can be held in Gizo or anywhere in Solomon Islands, with pickup and local-delivery options where they make sense.
Headless architecture
API-first commerce with a fast front end, so web, app, kiosk and marketplace channels share one backend. Dashboards break sales down by product, customer and neighbourhood of Gizo, so you see what to promote.
Multi-entity operations
Multiple brands, companies, warehouses, currencies and tax registrations on one platform. Content and design can follow how customers in Gizo search and buy, including English and Solomon Islands Pijin where you need it.
Deep integrations
ERP, PIM, WMS, CRM, POS, accounting and legacy systems with reliable, monitored data sync. Catalogues come in from spreadsheets, ERP exports or supplier feeds, so your Gizo team keeps its current way of working.
Migration
Move from older platforms with product, customer and order history, SEO-safe redirects and parallel runs. Payment steps are built around Visa and Mastercard, bank transfer and mobile money, the options shoppers here already trust.
Performance and security
Caching, CDN, load testing, security hardening, audit logs and cloud infrastructure as code. Couriers such as Solomon Post, DHL and local delivery plug in alongside your own fleet for Gizo orders.
How Gizo customers pay online
A store that serves Gizo should let customers pay the way they do offline: Visa and Mastercard, bank transfer, mobile money and cash on delivery.
Gateway selection depends on your category and merchant approval; we connect the provider, reconcile payments, automate retries and refunds, and never store raw card data. Prices, taxes and refunds appear in Solomon Islands dollar (SBD).
- Visa and Mastercard
- Cash on delivery
- Bank transfer
- Mobile money
Shipping, couriers and local delivery in Gizo
Your custom e-commerce platform can book shipments and share tracking with Solomon Post, DHL and local delivery, or route orders to your own riders and stores across Gizo.
We set up shipping zones, cut-off times, free-shipping thresholds, cash-collection rules and returns so the promise on the product page matches what your team can deliver.
Rules Gizo sellers must respect online
For Gizo sellers, tax first: Solomon Islands is moving from goods tax and sales tax to a VAT regime; confirm current rates with the IRD at implementation.
On privacy we design around general constitutional protections; no dedicated data-protection act yet; on consumer rights the store reflects the Consumer Protection Act and price-control regulations.
Controls we implement include compliant invoices, consent capture, policy pages, restricted staff access and audit trails. Please confirm the final legal and tax position with a local adviser in Gizo.
Gizo sellers: marketplace plus your own store
Facebook Marketplace and local stores are where many shoppers in Gizo start, which is why sellers list there. The trade-off is commission, limited branding and rules the platform can change overnight.
Your custom e-commerce platform becomes the hub: marketplaces and social shops become extra outlets fed from one catalogue, while repeat customers buy directly from you at better margins.
Industries in Gizo we work with
Popular online categories in the Solomon Islands include groceries, phones, hardware, fashion, home and fishing equipment. Western Province capital — which shapes what local businesses need online. In Gizo, we most often build custom e-commerce platforms for:
Enterprises with complex catalogues
Enterprises with complex catalogues get custom workflows plus multi-entity operations workflows tailored to their operations.
Multi-brand groups
We map how multi-brand groups sell today and digitise it end to end — from enquiry and order to payment, dispatch and repeat purchase.
Businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms
For businesses outgrowing SaaS platforms, we usually start with deep integrations, then add WMS and 3PL systems once orders are flowing.
Companies migrating legacy stores
Catalogue, pricing and fulfilment rules designed for companies migrating legacy stores in Gizo, connected to the systems you already use.
Regulated sectors
Regulated sectors get migration plus custom workflows workflows tailored to their operations.
High-traffic retailers
We map how high-traffic retailers sell today and digitise it end to end — from enquiry and order to payment, dispatch and repeat purchase.
Take your Gizo store onto customers' phones
In Gizo, shoppers browse on phones first. Because the platform is API-first, customer, staff and partner mobile apps can be added at any point without rebuilding the backend.
One backend serves the website and the apps, and the apps ship under your own Google Play and App Store accounts — so what you change once appears everywhere.
Push notifications can be timed to UTC+11 so offers reach Gizo customers when they are awake, and the interface can run in English and Solomon Islands Pijin.
- Search engines (Elasticsearch, Algolia)
- Identity and SSO
- SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics and Odoo ERPs
- POS and store systems
- BI and data warehouses
- PIM and DAM
- WMS and 3PL systems
- Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Integrations above are examples; we connect any system that offers a suitable API, database access or approved import and export process.
From first demo to growth in Gizo
Value first, depth later. For a custom e-commerce platform serving Gizo, the usual sequence looks like this:
| Phase | What goes live |
|---|---|
| Foundation | Architecture, core commerce, priority integrations and migration. Configured for SBD, Visa and Mastercard and Solomon Post from the start. |
| Differentiate | Custom workflows, configurators and automation. |
| Optimise | Performance, new channels, apps and continuous enhancement. Reviewed against how Gizo customers actually buy. |
Success is measured on page load and API response times, uptime, order-sync accuracy, manual-work hours saved, release frequency and total cost of ownership — tracked on a dashboard you can see from launch day.
How Gizo clients work with us
Gizo runs on UTC+11, which is 5h 30m ahead of India (IST). With three 8-hour shifts we are available 24×7, so meetings, demos and urgent fixes happen in your working hours.
We work in English and can deliver storefront content in English. NDAs are signed on request, and you get a named project lead plus direct access to the engineers building your custom e-commerce platform.
Our head office is in Chhapi, Gujarat, with an office in Hyderabad and representation in Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Zambia; Gizo clients are served remotely with on-site workshops when the project needs them.
