Logistics and warehouse capacity would be the keys to determining the success of e-commerce retailers, the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) said yesterday.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow over the retail sector, it has allowed the e-commerce industry to shine.
E-commerce sales in Taiwan surged 16.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, while sales across the wider retail sector contracted by 0.6 percent.
Photo courtesy of PChome Online Inc
Pointing to the nation’s two largest e-retailers — PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) and Momo.com Inc (富邦媒體) — the institute said that the race to build bigger warehouses and to improve logistics management is on.
“Taking a look at their [PChome and Momo] performances last quarter, we can clearly see that the nature of the competition has changed from a focus on boosting merchandise quantity to lowering logistics costs and expanding warehouse capacity,” MIC e-commerce industry consultant and director Wang Yi-chih (王義智) told an online forum.
The company that “has a strong logistics and warehouse system will have the highest chance of winning,” Wang said.
PChome reported that sales grew 16.05 percent year-on-year to NT$10.68 billion (US$357.13 million) in the first quarter, while Momo posted a 28.72 percent growth in sales to NT$15.11 billion.
“Logistics is one of the most important pillars supporting the e-commerce industry,” and major players have been setting up their own fleets, Wang said.
Seeking to ensure fast deliveries, Momo last month set up a new logistics subsidiary, Fu Sheng Logistics Co (富昇物流), which has a fleet of 200 couriers and more than 100 vehicles.
PChome is one step ahead, having established PChome Express Co (網家速配) in 2018, which has 250 couriers and 200 vehicles.
The importance of logistics in the development of e-commerce has been further highlighted by the recent surge in demand for food deliveries, Wang said.
As an increasing number of customers choose to eat at home, more e-commerce operators are offering fresh produce and frozen food on their platforms, which require fast delivery, he said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS