Carousell, the Singapore-based startup that connects sellers of second hand goods with buyers through a mobile app, made inroads into Taiwan late last week with the launch of a traditional Chinese-language app in conjunction with a media event.
According to Taiwan’s Punnode, founder Siu Rui Quek and the Carousell team have chosen the island as a destination for expansion due to its relatively sophisticated ecommerce market – consumers are already accustomed to buying and selling goods online, and at present, there’s no clear market leader for mobile ecommerce.
Upon opening the Carousell app from Taiwan, one will spot the usual product categories – electronics, shoes, apparel – along with options to scroll through listings from Facebook contacts that are also on the app. Individual product listings consist of a single photo, a brief description, a pickup location, and a button that lets potential buyers chat directly with sellers. Other social features like “likes” and “follows” are also embedded in the app.
Judging by the small number of listings at present, Carousell isn’t yet bustling with activity from Taiwan. But the team tells Punnode that it will actively look for sellers willing to set up shop on the app, particularly those who specialize in handcrafted goods. It’s not yet clear if that entails a opening local office.
See: Singaporean marketplace app Carousell snags $800k in funding
Taiwan’s ecommerce industry looks set to undergo major shifts in the coming year. Incumbents like Yahoo and PCHome, both of which have business-to-consumer marketplace apps in Google Play and the App Store, will soon face competition from Line. The popular messaging app, which boasts 17 million registered users among a population of 22 million people, will launch its own marketplace app in Taiwan this November. The government is also taking strides to devise laws that would allow third-party payment services like Paypal and Alipay to process online transactions.
Singapore’s peer-to-peer ecommerce startup Carousell eyes Taiwan for expansion
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