TAIWAN. Taiwan’s e-commerce sector is taking off, with major online stores predicting that they will double revenue growth this year.
Among the firms expecting huge growth are Eztravel, an online travel agency which books travel arrangements in Taiwan and abroad. It predicts 2005 revenue will hit NT$7 billion (US$208 million) – almost +100% growth.
Growth of Taiwan’s online shopping market | ||||||
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| Market Scale (NT$100 million) | 89.8 | 151.4 | 241.4 | 389.2 | 596 | 890.8 |
| Growth rate | N/A | 68.6% | 59.4% | 61.2% | 53.2% | 49.4% |
| Share in overall retail sales | 0.3% | 0.48% | 0.75% | 1.1% | 1.61% | 2.29% |
| Source: Market Intelligence Center, III | ||||||
According to the Market Intelligence Center (MIC) under the aegis of the Institute for Information Industry, the overall scale of Taiwan’s business-to-consumer market (excluding online auctions) is expected to hit NT$59.06 billion (US$1.8 billion) this year, +53.2% more than the 2004 level. The business-to-consumer sector is projected to account for 1.61% of the island’s total retail sales, up from last year’s 1.1%.
The MIC attributes the business-to-consumer growth this year to
– local consumers’ increasing Internet experience
– a growing reliance on the Internet for everyday tasks
– the rising number of young people enjoying shopping online
– the mature development of cash flows and deliveries for online shopping.
Industry insiders believe that online shopping will continue to grow at a high rate next year due to the growing maturity of the market and consumers, regardless of the performance of the local economy. As part of this trend a certain percentage of consumers are expected to shift from shopping at brick-and-mortar retailers to online shopping sites.
According to PChome Online Chief Operating Officer Hsieh Chen-feng, the Internet shopping business amounts to 6.7% of overall retail sales in the US. At 1.6% Taiwan lags three to four years behind that level. But with the growing number of consumers who trust that they can safely buy products over the Internet, the online shopping business is expected to continue developing at a rapid rate in Taiwan for the next few years.
MORE STORIES ON TAIWAN TRAVEL TRENDS
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