We tell Jamaicans to support local businesses. Then we proudly post bargains we found online. The irony is hard to miss.
We encourage entrepreneurship, yet increasingly buy directly from the very platforms that are eliminating many of the traditional layers entrepreneurs once occupied.
Neither position is wrong. In fact, both are perfectly rational.
Consumers want lower prices, greater choice, faster delivery, and convenience. Businesses want growth. Governments want jobs and tax revenue. But behind that convenience lies one of the most significant shifts in global commerce in decades. Commerce is being redistributed: the winners change. The losers change. The jobs change. The value changes. And for economies like Jamaica, the question is no longer whether global platforms are disrupting business. The question is who captures the value when they do.
Consider the scale of what we are witnessing. Amazon generated approximately US$638 billion in revenue last year serving 100-plus countries. Shein is estimated to generate roughly US$50 billion annually while serving customers in more than 150 countries. Temu, launched internationally in 2022, has expanded into more than 90 markets in roughly three years.
That speed should command attention. Amazon spent decades building its global footprint. Shein took more than a decade to become a global force. Temu has achieved comparable international reach in a fraction of the time. Whether one views that as innovation or disruption, it represents one of the fastest international expansions in modern retail history.
Some would argue this is simply the market working as intended. Consumers should not be expected to pay higher prices simply to preserve inefficient business models. If technology allows manufacturers and consumers to connect directly, perhaps the middleman was always destined to disappear.
There is merit to that argument.
After all, few consumers complain about lower prices, greater choice, or easier access to products. Many Jamaicans now purchase items online that would either be unavailable locally or significantly more expensive. On the surface, it appears to be a win for everyone. For consumers managing rising living costs, the value proposition is difficult to ignore. But who else is paying the price?
That argument assumes the only value the middleman ever created was mark-up. It was not. Historically, the value chain was: manufacturer, distributor, importer, retailer, consumer. Today it is increasingly: manufacturer, platform, consumer.
For decades, geography provided a degree of protection. Local businesses largely competed against other local businesses. Today, a supplier in Shenzhen can compete for a customer in Kingston almost as easily as a retailer located across town.
Geographic insulation has collapsed.
The United States has already experienced much of this transformation. Shopping malls declined. Department stores struggled. Independent retailers faced increasing pressure. Yet commerce did not disappear. It reorganised itself. New winners emerged in logistics, warehousing, fulfilment, technology, and platform management.
Jamaica may now be entering its own version of that transition.
The disruption extends beyond large retailers. For decades, thousands of Caribbean entrepreneurs built businesses around sourcing products overseas and reselling them locally. Many travelled regularly to Miami, New York, Panama, and China searching for products, negotiating supplier relationships, and creating businesses that served local consumers. Without fully realising it, many of these entrepreneurs occupied the middle of the value chain.
Today, consumers can often access those same suppliers directly from their phones. This in no way means local businesses disappear. It does mean they must rethink how they create value. Access alone is no longer enough. The product is no longer the competitive advantage. The experience is. Consumers now have access to almost everything.
The platforms themselves have become the new middleman.
Perhaps nowhere is this shift more visible than in Jamaica’s courier industry. For years, courier companies built successful businesses helping Jamaicans access overseas retailers through foreign shipping addresses and package-forwarding services. Today, Amazon ships many products directly to Jamaica, while Temu is aggressively courting Jamaican consumers through direct marketing and promotions. The question is not whether courier companies survive. The question is how they evolve.
The discussion becomes even more interesting when consumer protection enters the picture. Buying a discounted phone charger from a seller thousands of miles away feels great, right up until it does not work, arrives damaged, or never arrives at all.
Recently, European regulators imposed a €200 million (JMD $36 billion) fine on Temu over concerns relating to consumer protection and marketplace accountability. The fine was significant, but the message was more significant: “If you want access to our market of roughly 450 million consumers, platform accountability is not optional.” The debate was not primarily about low prices. It was about responsibility. If a product is unsafe, defective, counterfeit, or fails to meet expectations, who owns the problem? The manufacturer? The platform? The seller? Or the consumer?
As more transactions move directly between consumers and global marketplaces, these questions become increasingly important.
The natural response is often to focus on taxation. Yet taxation may be the smallest part of the conversation.
The larger issues are competitiveness, accountability, consumer protection, and economic adaptation. Are local businesses building enough value beyond the products they sell? Do consumers understand the protections available when purchasing across borders? Are regulators evolving as quickly as the platforms themselves? Most importantly, are we preparing businesses for the economy that is emerging rather than the one that is disappearing?
The lesson for Jamaican businesses is not to panic. It is to reposition. Businesses that rely solely on access will struggle. Those that build brands, create trust, deliver expertise, foster community, leverage technology, and solve meaningful problems will thrive.
The platform economy is here to stay. Consumers have embraced it because it offers affordability, convenience, and choice. Businesses are adapting because they must. Europe’s response to Temu was ultimately about accountability. Jamaica may soon discover that accountability, not taxation, is the more important conversation. Commerce is already being redistributed.
The winners of the next decade will be those who understand where the value has gone and position themselves accordingly.
Dr Charlene Ashley is an international business strategist, organisational behaviour consultant, and marketing strategist with experience across more than 40 countries. She advises organisations on growth, transformation, leadership, and market competitiveness, bringing a global perspective to business and economic issues affecting Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.
