Rivals say new venture to boost local e-commerce

Rivals Yahoo-Kimo Inc (雅虎奇摩) and PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) yesterday welcomed the formation of a new venture by President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) and Rakuten Inc, saying the entry of a global player would help boost the local market.

"Taiwan's online shopping market has a lot of potential. President Chain and Rakuten's collaboration will help stimulate local e-commerce, which should benefit Yahoo-Kimo Shopping as well," Kelly Hsu (許卉妃), a public relations official at Yahoo-Kimo, said during a telephone interview.

Yahoo-Kimo is the nation's largest online shopping site, enjoying a market share of 61.8 percent in September, the Taipei-based market researcher InsightXplorer Ltd (創市際) said in its latest market report.

Yahoo-Kimo currently works with President Chain in the so-called in-store pickup service.

"This service will continue despite President Chain's joint venture with Rakuten," Hsu said.

Vicky Tseng (曾薰儀), marketing director of PChome Online, agreed that Rakuten's entry would have a positive effect on the local e-commerce market.

However, Tseng also said that local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have yet to fully embrace e-commerce.

"That's because some online shopping sites, such as Yahoo's oBuy [全買網], charges an annual fee of NT$56,000 to NT$80,000, depending on the type of plan, and many SMEs cannot afford the expense," Tseng said.

She said PChome only charges its users a one-time setup fee of NT$25,000 and a 2 percent transaction fee.