Fashion label Ingrid Starnes operate two retail stores and their online store.

In order to manage stock it was vital for them that their e-commerce solution worked in with their in-store POS system. With Dremus they find that not only do the systems work to update one another on sales but that because they share information they only need to enter the product data into one system to have it appear in both.

"We're a pretty small outfit, so if that is one thing we don't have to do then there is time for us to get some of the other stuff done!"

Another really important point for the label was the ability to customize their store.

"Because this system is skinnable we could spend our budget on getting a custom interface designed that shows the clothes in a way that we are really happy with. When your design is your story it is so important to be able to have that story told well through how we sell our products, not just the products we sell."

Being able to sell clothes at all hours and to the whole world was what got the label online. Initially they wondered if people wanted to buy online as trying silk dresses for fit and drape is so important.

"But we found that this was another place for people to get a good look, and people who lived away from a stockist or who live overseas were able to look and then buy online for the first time". And in this having an online store is something Ingrid had never guessed, fun.

It is such a great feeling to wake up and see orders from Italy or Japan or England that might have come in overnight".

Nicholas at The Casing Boutique sells sausage casings. Natural, tasty, non-artificial -the best around for making your own sausages. He's often on the road selling them to happy butchers, restaurants and folk all over Australia and New Zealand. So he isn't always sitting in an office ready to take an order.

What he needed from an e-commerce solution was the ability to let customers order online whenever they wanted, and he wanted to be able to check in and follow-up on those orders from wherever he might be. However, while he knew a lot about sausages, customers and delivering a great business, he didn't want to have to learn everything there is to know about websites to make it work.

"A mate recommended Dremus. Right from the get-go I was able to ask for any support I needed and found that I didn't need much at all. It just works for me and I find that I can follow it all and run it all myself. But when I can't, help really is there in plain English an email away."

Dremus also provided Nicholas with valuable data about his business. The ability to monitor what is working, the times of visits and information like which items were added to and removed from carts has really helped Nicholas target his marketing.

"I've found most sales happen late at night. Maybe it is a chef re-ordering then and often I find it's someone who has perhaps watched Masterchef and has decided to have a go. I can now target my advertising to that time-period and it has saved me money and made me money."

Nicholas is a web-sales convert, the professional credibility factor of having a great e-commerce platform has helped him open doors, so he's opening some new doors:

"I've found this has worked so well that I now have two other projects in the works that will be based around Dremus to sell online. If you want something user friendly that gives you a platform to sell and change and monitor easily, Dremus is the way to go."

Tim at Rode runs a business that is all about the personal touch. Tim looks after people and their bikes, while offering a range of cycles and accessories. It's a mixture of service and mechanics; helping with the right equipment, recommending rides and fitting out customer's kids for their first bike. It's about knowing your customers and being there for them. But he knows that the way people shop is changing, even if the service they need is not.

"People are sitting in offices and can't always get out. Having an online store helps people research. They can then buy it right there or come in-store for our service and advice."

For Rode, Dremus operates as a shop window to the world -where people can see what they offer, view the images, see the prices and then come in to try and learn more.

"It's another facet to the business, they can find our pricing and what stock we carry. I get emails from the website at all hours of the day, It means we are always open to that opportunity without extra effort."

And with a busy business already it was vital that the online store was not a lot of extra effort. Tim chose Dremus in large part because of the way he found uploading and managing products so easy.

"It is so important not to have a system that will cost you every time you want to change something because a developer has to do it all for you. We manage everything and it is easy to do so."

After 18 months with Dremus Tim still sees increases in business as more people are shopping online.

"Getting online with Dremus was a recommendation from a friend in the industry, previously we'd had a brochure website, and I couldn't recommend this enough as a cost-effective way to get with the future online."

Ben Tilly does something that is very New Zealand, he has a world-beating business based in his garage. But that business is around a sport not many Kiwis may know well. Ben plays Underwater Hockey, which is exactly what it sounds like: Hockey played underwater.

"It's a very specialized, weird sport. You push a puck underwater with a stick. And not many people make these sticks, you can't go to a sports store and just pick one up say, and ours have become quite popular around the world."

As word spread through the tight-knit playing community, fanned by blogs, forums and international competitions where players saw them in action, orders stated to come in from around the world.

And where those orders came from in the world matters when you're shipping ungainly sticks about the place. "With Dremus we can programme in all the shipping information and by asking the right questions in the checkout process we can immediately quote and charge, meaning no follow-up is needed and we can post an order off lunchtime the next day, using the Dremus generated invoices for customs."

Having a bricks and mortar store wouldn't work for Ben, but having a store always open to the world online works wonderfully.

"It's no-ones' full time job so it's easy and quick and fits around your life."

In fact, Ben's day job is as a designer - so the customizable nature of Dremus appealed to him.

"I was able to make my store completely design led, which for designers is a bit exciting".

Not that you have to be able to build your own website to make Dremus work for you -users are able to pick a template from one of many available for the site, some of which are actually made by Ben himself.

"I enjoyed making my own and thought it could be cool to make a few templates using some of my bells and whistles that might be handy for other users and work straight off the shelf."

More of the kind of thinking that's seen Ben's hobby turn into a worldwide hit, with a little help from Dremus.