Samoans overseas buy groceries online for families back home during COVID 19 emergency

Etuale Scanlon has been selling groceries and other bigger items online for four years, from rice, and tinned fish, to mattresses and fridges.

He says the coronavirus pandemic has seen his business increase with Samoans, especially those living overseas, from Australia to Alaska, putting in orders for groceries, to lend a hand to their to friends and family back home.

Online shopping like Mr Scanlon's business is still relatively new to Samoa.

A UN report in 2017 noted that internet connections were still unreliable and expensive, and it found that many Samoans were reluctant to trust online payments.

But people all over the world have been forced to adapt and adjust their lifestyle because of the COVID 19 situation.

In Australia demand for online shopping jumped so high that supermarkets have been forced to restrict it to the elderly and other vulnerable people.

In Samoa, grocery stores have had limited opening hours under the Governments' State of Emergency which was introduced even without any confirmed COVID 19 cases.

The Samoan government has ordered people over the age of 60 to stay at home which makes shopping for the essentials a difficult task when families are far away and often overseas.