Online shopping festival kicks off in Taiwan
2014-09-26
An inaugural online shopping festival got underway Sept. 24 as part of government efforts spurring e-commerce in Taiwan and establishing a global brand for the country’s virtual marketplace.
Organized by state-sponsored Institute for Information Industry under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the event is supported by over 50,000 retailers trading through 23 mobile and online shopping platforms.
During the festival’s 27-day run, retailers will set up dedicated areas on their websites offering a variety of promotions such as discounts for group orders, free gifts with purchases on Double Tenth National Day and special deals for shoppers in mainland China.
According to the MOEA Department of Commerce, the event is an extension of the 2013 Taiwan Shopping Festival that grossed more than NT$34.3 billion (US$1.14 billion) for brick-and-mortar merchants in the country’s six major cities over a period of five months.
“We expect the shopping spree this year to generate sales of NT$10 billion from local consumers alone,” an MOEA official said. “Taking into account the potential business from mainland China, we remain bullish on the bottom line.”
Online shopping is increasingly popular among the younger generations worldwide, the official said, adding that the Cabinet has established a task force overseeing interministerial measures in stimulating sector development.
“The MOEA will also propose an e-commerce development guideline by the end of the year,” the official said. “These public-private efforts are expected to see the country’s e-commerce market top NT$880 billion this year, up 15 percent from 2013.”
Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=222100&CtNode=413)