Coupang Launches Rocket Direct Purchase in Taiwan... Opening Overseas Markets for Domestic SMEs

Coupang Inc. Launches Taiwan Rocket Direct Purchase as Part of Global Business Expansion

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Coupang Inc., the parent company of Coupang, announced on the 26th that it will launch the Rocket Direct Purchase service in Taiwan. Through this service, customers across Taiwan will be able to quickly receive millions of direct purchase products for free. Small and medium-sized businesses both domestically and abroad, including those in Korea, will be able to explore new overseas sales channels through Coupang without additional procedures or cost burdens.

Taiwanese customers can easily purchase most of the millions of Rocket Delivery products currently sold in Korea through Rocket Direct Purchase. In particular, more than half of the Rocket Delivery products shipped to Taiwan are from small and medium-sized enterprises, and 90% are shipped from Korea, so the Taiwan Rocket Direct Purchase service is expected to provide new growth opportunities for domestic small businesses. Coupang handles all matters arising from overseas sales, such as logistics, customs clearance, import tax collection, and last-mile delivery within Taiwan.

A Coupang official said, "With Korean products gaining great popularity among Taiwanese customers, Coupang’s service is connecting Taiwanese customers and small businesses in a completely new way. Considering the enormous potential of the Taiwanese e-commerce market, we believe this challenge is only the beginning."

According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, Taiwan is one of the countries with a high internet usage rate worldwide. Last year, the e-commerce sector recorded a growth rate of 24.5%. Especially, Taiwan’s population density is higher than Korea’s, while its e-commerce penetration rate is relatively low. Considering the explosive growth of Taiwan’s e-commerce and the similarity in population, Coupang’s new service in Taiwan is expected to be a great opportunity for domestic small business partners as well.

The method to use Rocket Direct Purchase in Taiwan is simple. Taiwanese customers can receive free shipping when purchasing direct purchase products worth more than 690 Taiwan dollars (approximately 31,200 Korean won), and the ordered products are shipped on the next day’s first flight to Taiwan and quickly delivered to the customer’s doorstep. For orders below the minimum purchase amount, a small shipping fee of 195 Taiwan dollars (approximately 8,700 Korean won) is required. Generally, inexpensive international shipping services within Taiwan take an average of more than three weeks from order to delivery, and fast shipping options often incur excessive costs. Also, the variety of products available for international shipping is limited. In contrast, Coupang offers products at prices and services almost identical to those in Korea without the price surcharges typically imposed by other importers in Taiwan.

Coupang Inc. is also testing the Rocket Delivery service in Taiwan, which provides free next-day delivery of best-selling products such as groceries, daily necessities, and infant products along with Rocket Direct Purchase. Coupang expects that its main service, Rocket Delivery, in Taiwan will provide another growth opportunity for domestic small and medium-sized enterprises.

Professor Kang Hyung-gu of Hanyang University’s Business School said, "The outlook for the Taiwan market is very bright. Coupang makes it easier for many small businesses to enter the global market and digitalize. If small businesses focus their capabilities on strengthening the competitiveness of their products and utilize Coupang’s infrastructure for areas that are difficult to handle directly, such as marketing, foreign language customer support services, and administrative processing, it will help their overseas expansion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.