[Interview] Taipei strives to accelerate industrial transformation in post-COVID era

Taipei official Lin Chung-chieh says zero-touch economy, cross-border e-commerce focus of city's future economic development

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/087
By: Teng Pei-ju, Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Considering a global economy that has been shaken by COVID-19 since early this year, Lin Chung-chieh (林崇傑), commissioner of the Taipei City Government Department of Economic Development, sees the zero-touch economy as playing a key role in the post-pandemic era as the city strives for industrial transformation.

Shops, restaurants, and other local businesses were particularly stricken between March to June when coronavirus scares forced physical stores to close, put off events, and kept consumers at home, observed Lin. In the meantime, however, online transaction and payments without physical contact have seen double-digit growth, he said during an interview with Taiwan News.

According to data collected by the city government, online business grew by 17.5 percent in the city’s retail environment in the first half of 2020. Online store sales also went up by 16.8 percent during the same period.

The popularity of mobile payments in the capital has also increased by nearly 16 percent to 59.7 percent in the first two quarters, data shows. Lin asserted that online shopping and mobile payments will assume an ever more important role in consumers' shopping experiences even after the pandemic is over.    [FUILL  STORY]