Coupang launches ultra-fast Rocket Delivery service in Taiwan

Coupang Inc., South Korea’s answer to global e-commerce giant Amazon.com, said on Wednesday it has launched its ultra-fast delivery service in Taiwan as part of its efforts to widen its presence in the Southeast Asian market.

The e-commerce platform operator, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, said it is now officially offering its flagship Rocket Delivery service in Taiwan after a pilot service that began earlier this month.

Through Coupang’s online or mobile app, customers in Taiwan can order daily necessities and groceries for delivery the following day. If the ordered products come to NT$490 (US$15.2) or more, they are delivered free of charge. Purchase orders below NT$490 are charged a delivery fee of NT$75.

The charging system is different from Korea, where unlimited free shipping is available if users subscribe to Coupang’s ultra-fast Rocket Delivery WOW membership for a monthly fee of 4,990 won ($3.5).

For quick delivery services in the Southeast Asian country, the Korean company is known to have set up a logistics center in northern Taiwan.

In addition to the Rocket Delivery service within Taiwan, Coupang has also launched a cross-border online shopping service, allowing Taiwanese consumers to directly purchase goods from Korea.

LOOKING TO REPEAT KOREAN MARKET SUCCESS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Coupang’s founder Kim Bom-seok, also known by his English name Bom Kim, is striving to expand the company’s business in the US and Southeast Asian countries, in particular, to repeat its success in Korea of its trademark same-day Rocket Delivery service.

The company entered Japan and Singapore in 2021.

Coupang’s strategy is to win over the densely populated cities of those countries where e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Alibaba have little presence.

Analysts say Taiwan is the ideal destination to test Coupang’s strategy, as the e-commerce market in the densely populated island nation is led by a local player PChome Inc. and the Singapore-based Shopee Pte Ltd.

Taiwan's population density is high, with 673 people per square kilometer, denser than Korea’s 515 people per square kilometer.

Taiwan’s Internet penetration rate is also high. Data from Statistics Korea showed the Internet usage rate in Taiwan was 89% in 2020.

According to London-based market research firm Euromonitor International, Taiwan's e-commerce market transactions are forecast to grow to $28.1 billion by 2025 from $$20.5 billion in 2021.

“For Coupang, Taiwan will be a good testbed for its bid to expand its Rocket Delivery service globally,” said Yoo Hyo-sang, chief of Korea’s Unicorn Business and Economic Research Institute.

Write to Jong-Kwan Park at pjk@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.