Running an online apparel business, Shaun Roberts has found that some Bermudians are quick to click “order” on Amazon.com, but more reluctant when it comes to local online retailers.

The owner of apparel brand Urban Island is working to overcome that reticence. “I don’t know if people have had bad experiences with other entrepreneurs or other online businesses,” he said.

He feels the consumer nervousness is unwarranted.

“Local entrepreneurs have pretty good standards and quality goods,” he said. “We are trying to get people more in the habit of trusting Bermudian entrepreneurs for delivery and ease of service.”

He also believes people have misconceptions about the cost of local products.

“Our prices are not very far from what you will see in the United States or on Amazon by the time people ship things here,” he said.

Because people in Bermuda sometimes prefer to touch and feel local products, he is raising his brand’s visibility through events such as Harbour Night in Hamilton on Wednesday evenings.

“We are being well received, and are actually starting to do better online as a result of that,” Mr Roberts said.

He launched Urban Island out of his apartment in 2022, just after the pandemic, spotting a gap in the market.

“In Bermuda, when you see apparel that has Bermuda as an identity, it’s tourist branded,” he said. “When I started my business there was nothing specifically identifying for people who are either from here or live here.”

Mr Roberts called it Urban Island to merge island identity with urban streetwear trends in the United States and the United Kingdom.

He sold online for a period, then sold through a shop in the Washington Mall called Lookie Lookie for two years. When that closed he was back online.

Despite the challenges, he sees strong demand for authentic Bermuda-centric products.

His “Born and Raised in Bermuda” T-shirt design marked a turning point for his business.

“Before that it had been mostly friends and family buying from me,” Mr Roberts said. “When I was able to start marketing and garnering the attention of people that didn’t know me, then I knew that my products were resonating with Bermudians and the diaspora.”

A more recent hit is his mesh jersey with “Bermuda 21” on the front. He has sold hundreds. They are so popular that he even had a few stolen in shipment.

“They are manufactured in Pakistan,” he explained. “I had nine stolen from me in the process of getting them here.”

When he asked his shippers about it, they reported that the box arrived open with jerseys spilling out.

“Whoever was responsible for the jerseys going missing had put a car racer’s jumpsuit inside the box, which I never ordered,” he said. “I don’t know where it came from.”

Mr Roberts initially studied administration of justice at Howard University, and is now in charge of development and training at Belco.

He also runs a second business writing and selling a series of children’s books called Lil Bermy Readers, which he also promotes at Harbour Night.

• For more information seeurbanislandbda.com