November 13, 2014

Taipei, November 13, 2014 - Rakuten Taiwan today launched Rakuten Online Bookstore (www.rakuten.com.tw/books/) in Taiwan. Rakuten Online Bookstore is a book marketplace that offers around 100,000 titles at launch and will operate within the larger Rakuten Ichiba Taiwan Marketplace, offering consumers more opportunities to discover books and other products and to earn and burn Rakuten Super Points.


Rakuten Online Bookstore empowers the Taiwan publishing community by allowing local book publishers of all sizes to list a wider variety of titles, expanding their reach to more consumers through the Rakuten Online Bookstore. It also encourages more Taiwanese to discover the benefits of reading, by offering them exclusive incentives including the chance to earn bonus Rakuten Super Points when they shop at the bookstore.

According to the Rakuten E-Commerce Index 2014 released earlier this year, 47.3% Taiwanese purchase books online. With nearly 40,000 new titles published annually in Taiwan, this represents a growing category for e-commerce. Rakuten Online Bookstore offers consumers the latest titles, especially in the lifestyle, travel, and health categories. Consumers can find all varieties of books and enjoy entertaining shopping experiences.

Yuichi Ejiri,  President of Regional Business Management Group, Rakuten Asia, said, "The launch of the Rakuten Online Bookstore represents another major milestone in developing Rakuten's presence in Taiwan. We hope to redefine online bookstore channels by making it easier for Taiwanese consumers to discover new titles, and empower the local publishing community by allowing publishers of any size, to list their books on our platform."

According to a recent survey by Global Views Monthly Magazine, Taiwanese read on average 1.7 books a month, which represents a 16% decline compared to 2.02 books in 2010. 

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