“It’s very much like a social media platform so while people are searching for things, they might find other things on there.”
Rebecca says there is a very real threat to local businesses from giant international online retailers.
“This is a platform to try and support those local businesses to get them online and build a community space online that is useful, so traffic comes and so the usefulness of it increases.”
As well as business pages, there are community pages and Epic’s community calendar.
“I really hope we get good use of [the calendar] with organisations submitting their events so we’ve got a place where people can easily see what [events] are coming up and who’s doing what.”
She says the app is an extension of the website and a handy tool for people to have on their phones.
“The developers are working with Australian organisations and pitching to American towns and showcasing what we’ve done with Te Puke Online, as well as what they are trying to achieve with the town set-up, which is supporting the locals on the ground.”
The app is still new.
“We are open to feedback about what will make it more useful, so anybody can get in touch with Epic and give us that feedback, but we very much hope it will be downloaded by locals.”
The app can be downloaded from the Te Puke Online website.
