Payment cards lead online purchases in Taiwan

About 94% of Taiwanese consumers engaged in online shopping over the past six months.

Payment cards remain the top choice for online transactions in Taiwan in 2023.

According to GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey, payment cards, particularly credit and charge cards, accounted for 53.6% of e-commerce purchases in 2023, driven by benefits like reward points and cashback incentives.

Meanwhile, alternative payment solutions represented 26.7% of online transactions, with LINE Pay being the top choice, followed by Apple Pay and Google Pay.

About 94% of Taiwanese consumers engaged in online shopping over the past six months, with a mere 1.8% reporting no online shopping activity during this period.

Additionally, Taiwan’s e-commerce sector witnessed a growth of 8.8% in 2023, reaching a valuation of $44.7b (TWD1.4t). 

Projections also suggest a further 7.8% growth in the e-commerce market, reaching $48.1b (TWD1.5t) by 2024.

“Taiwan’s e-commerce market is growing at a healthy pace,” said Kartik Challa, senior banking and payments analyst at GlobalData. “This growth was mainly due to rising internet and smartphone penetration, coupled with increasing consumer confidence in online transactions.”

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Key drivers of this growth include popular online shopping events like Single’s Day (Double 11), Double Twelve, 618 Festival, and Black Friday, supplemented by government-led initiatives such as the Mid-Autumn Reunion Shopping Festival and Taiwan-Matsu Joint Online Shopping Festival.

Taiwan's e-commerce market is expected to reach TWD1.9t ($60.1b) by 2028, growing annually at 5.7% between 2024 and 2028.

“Growing consumer preference for online shopping, the rising popularity of online shopping festivals, as well as evolving authentication measures that offer enhanced security will further encourage online payments,” Challa said.