I searched the forums for comparisons of the major Taiwan online shopping platforms and most of what I have found has been related to shopping on such marketplaces. But my interest is not figuring out which is the best to BUY FROM – instead, I would like advice on which would be most appropriate to SELL FROM and reach a local Mandarin speaking market.
My product is a health/cosmetic item - all-natural and made from abroad. My partners are applying for FDA Class 1 approval (because it is a spray) but in other countries, it is also sold without health authority approval (so no clinical claims can be made).
Some of us think we should have product pages for our product on all the major platforms (marketplaces) - PCHome, Yahoo/Kimo, Shopee, Ruten, and Momo as well as our own Shopline store. But we are on a budget and it seems wiser to take a more thoughtful approach - like since one of our target users is seniors, we should focus on one or 2 marketplaces that are particularly accessible to them.
I’ve been told that Momo has a tendency to run a lot of promos and sellers on Momo are expected/required to participate. So, the seller ends up with even tighter margins than on other platforms
Have you had any experience selling to Taiwan from online? Can you rank the marketplaces in general terms?
My In-laws rarely buy anything for themselves other than food and water. My wife and her brother buy anything new and “gift” whatever it is to them. I’m not sure the old boy and gal are even interested in navigating shopping sites due to frugal habits.
Have you thought of your target audience being the kids who will buy for their parents?
Most commercials you see for old folks’ products is targeted toward the children who will buy for their parents because, “if you love mom, buy this.”.
I don’t think seniors buy much online. PCHome maybe because it’s the oldest. If you’re not in a store, you’re losing a big part of your target. I think rather than polling random foreigners, you’re best off doing a test run on different platforms and seeing how well they preform before going all in on one. Also having your own website and doing your targeted marketing. And you can try partnering with online sellers who are established in the seniors niche. It sounds like you’re selling one or a few products, so it seems like a lot of extra effort to have your own store for one thing. You might be better off finding a distributor.
E-commerce is expected to be the smallest channel but it could grow to be the most important. We plan to make the product available in chain drugstores and GP clinics (maybe)
I am the only one in my group who is Mandarin-disabled. I am hoping that I can benefit from the experience of people on this website who have more experience in Taiwan e-commerce today
Taiwan is the only place I don’t buy things online haha. In Taipei at least, everything is easy to find.
Have you considered the option of having your own website? I wonder if older people even use and browse market places. Maybe they are more inclined to go on your own site what is easy to navigate. Since you’re doing much of the distribution in stores in the beginning, people who buy your products can easily be converted to using your site if you write it on the product. And you would take more of the cut without marketplaces taking a small chunk of it.
I’m setting up aN e-commerce business. Completely opposite tp you where I do not plan to sell in store at all in the near future. I used woo commerce on Wordpress to do it. It seems easy enough for me to track inventory and have a checkout that is pretty easy for customers.
We will definitely have a website that introduces the products and why it’s different from what is already in the market. It will also have information about and links to information about the disease that it treats.
We are still debating whether we should have our own shopping cart (I think there are 2 popular shopping cart solutions in Taiwan, i.e., interfaces with credit cards + bank transfers + convenience store payments) or skipping the shopping cart and sending buyers to a product page on a marketplace - like PCHome, Shopee, Momo, etc.
I understand that each marketplace has its own pros/cons/quirks. And the costs differ, too, as well as the audiences they attract. I haven’t found an analysis of this yet - in English or Chinese. I am hoping someone can post a link to such a comparison or ranking, whether in English or Chinese, made recently (in the past 5 years)
Please don’t forget to vote in the scoring I set up above
I personally think it’s easier to manage if you use your own shopping cart. I’m not sure how those market places handle it, but it is important to me that my business has great customer service. I rather it be direct without a 3rd party involved being the arbiter. I think if youre selling high volumes, having more control is better.
Comparing the 8 major online shop platforms [of Taiwan], how does the online shop system choose functions and prices?
How to choose online shop?
Self-hosted website, online shop platform, shopping mall, which one is suitable for me?
Features and prices of the store opening system that 8 Taiwanese brands love to use:
91APP
EasyStore
SHOPLINE
Cyberbiz
meepShop
Shopify
WACA
QDM
5 consideration indicators for choosing a store platform
