E-commerce to see continued growth in 2024: MOEA

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) E-commerce in Taiwan is projected to experience continued growth in 2024, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has said.

The ministry also revealed that online sales from the first half of the year already hit 3 percent annual growth to reach NT$313.9 billion (US$9.6 billion).

Speaking to CNA, deputy head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics Huang Wei-jie (黃偉傑) explained that Taiwan's online shopping market has experienced a steady annual climb in recent years.

MOEA numbers show that e-commerce consisted 8.5 percent of Taiwan's consumer sales in Taiwan in 2019.

The online shopping market then expanded to 11 percent in 2020 and around 13 percent per year between 2021 and 2023.

Huang explained that this period of major growth coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, when the general public limited the amount of contact they had with one another -- including when shopping for necessities.

Sales from e-commerce first exceeded the NT$300 billion mark in 2019 and hit 30.9 percent annual growth in 2020 to reach NT$439.3 billion, followed by a 26.5 percent increase in 2021 with sales reaching NT$555.7 billion.

A significant proportion of the population returned to traditional shopping patterns following the end of the pandemic, curbing the annual e-commerce growth to 11.6 percent in 2022, Huang said.

However, online sales still increased to NT$620.3 billion, before growth of 2.6 percent in 2023 lifted this figure to NT$636.4 billion, according to the official.

E-commerce businesses in Taiwan also echoed Huang's observations, reporting back to the department to indicate that many online shoppers had indeed returned to traditional shopping methods after the pandemic.

However, businesses went on to note that the e-commerce market is still able to stimulate consumer interest by offering internet-exclusive sales and promotions.

Huang further explained that another factor likely curbing e-commerce growth in the first half of 2024 was a high comparison base.

With the upcoming shopping festivals observed in Taiwan in the later half, Huang expects e-commerce sales to break yet another record this year.