Revenue from Non-traditional Retail Businesses to Exceed NT$200 B. in 2014

With online commerce booming, overall revenue from non-traditional retailers in Taiwan is forecast to exceed NT$200 billion this year as a record high, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Non-traditional or retail businesses without physical shops, according to the MOEA, include online shopping, automatic vending machines, TV shopping, direct selling and other retail businesses without brick-and-mortal stores.

MOEA's report shows that the sector's revenue has steadily grown over the past seven years, to a new high of NT$194.8 billion last year. Noteworthy is that the sector is immune to economic downturn, proven by its revenue which stayed at the level of NT$150 billion during 2008-2009, the onset of the financial tsunami.

Another sign of the sector's promise, the MOEA indicated, is the surging number of online retailers, now 120% more than that a decade ago. Driven by this trend, online shopping's revenue contribution to the sector has grown to be 4.7 percentage points over 10 years.

MOEA officials say that the sector's overall revenue may exceed NT$200 billion this year for a variety of reasons, including rising popularity of smartphones and mobile Internet devices, a trend towards integrated distribution channels, and, particularly, realization of third-party payment if such regulation is passed by the legislature as planned in the year.

To bolster development of the domestic e-commerce sector, the MOEA has mapped out a regulatory act for third-party payment conducted in Taiwan, to  allow local third-party payment service providers to operate online-to-offline transaction, and to further pump growth momentum into non-traditional retail businesses. (SC)