Online retail booming as citizens stay at home in shadow of coronavirus

Online retail booming as citizens stay at home in shadow of coronavirus

2020-02-18

Coronavirus is hitting the world economy, but some industries are seeing benefits from the outbreak. Companies that cater to what’s known as the "stay at home economy" are booming as more people avoid leaving the house. Online food retailers say sales are way up on this time last year.

Workers in thick coats are busy preparing online orders.

They compare the items to the order sheet and quickly tally them before the loads are sent for packing.

They’re put in cardboard boxes and packed tight with filler before being wrapped in tape to be shipped. This is the warehouse of an online food retailer in Taoyuan, almost 7,000 square meters in floor space. Post-Lunar New Year would normally be the quietest time of the year. But right now it’s a hive of activity.

Wang Ying-chu
Online retailer representative
Our sales right now are about three times what they were at this time last year. It is probably connected to the virus outbreak. We have more and more customers shopping online to avoid leaving the house. People think it’s more convenient to invite friends round to eat at home or just cook for themselves.

This retailer says that people are going out less and cooking at home more in the shadow of the virus. Items like pre-prepared stews are flying off the shelves. Products claiming health benefits are also seeing a boost in popularity. And demographics that are less likely to shop online are turning more often to the internet.

Wang Ying-chu
Online retailer representative
At the moment we still have about enough staff to meet demand. But if sales carry on growing like this then we will consider hiring extra workers.

Online retailers have their hands full and could soon be touting new job opportunities. It looks like a virus outbreak is a boon for the “stay at home economy.”

在家防疫宅經濟發燒！食品電商業績增3倍

2020-02-18

武漢疫情延燒，並非百業蕭條，電商業績搶搶滾！我們獨家直擊到食品電商平台的冷凍倉儲，往年這個時候是食品銷售的淡季，現在網購訂單反而大爆量，業績比去年同期大增三倍，業者指出，防疫期間，不少人減少外出，改在家料理和聚餐，標榜補身的雞湯和鱸魚精等，也跟著熱賣。

工作人員穿厚外套，忙著點貨。

比對訂單，快速理貨，分裝好的商品送往包裝區。

放入紙箱，鋪滿緩衝材，用膠帶封裝好，等著出貨。這裡是食品電商平台位在桃園的倉儲，占地約兩千坪，往年在農曆年後是傳統淡季，現在每個人卻是忙到手都沒停過。

[[食品電商公關王英朱]]
“確實跟去年的同期比起來，我們業績大概有成長3倍左右的業績，應該是跟整體的這個疫情有所關係，所以我們宅經濟的客人越來越多，大家覺得在家裡做一個聚餐或者是團聚的部分，或是個人的料理都是比較方便”

業者指出，受到疫情影響，民眾減少外出，自煮風潮明顯興起，覆熱即食調理包賣得嚇嚇叫，標榜強健身體的食品銷量也大增，客群年齡層也擴大。

[[食品電商公關王英朱]]
“目前我們人力上的需求，跟安排的話是可以的，但是如果說這個業績的部分，一直照持續現在的狀況，來做一個成長的話，我們也有考慮再多增聘，一些其他人手”

網購訂單應接不暇，電商人力需求也可望攀升，全民防疫作戰，帶動宅經濟持續發燒！

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Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the whole economy has slowed down. Of course the first thing to be affected is donations to not-for-profits. What we’re worried about is that we might run out of money to pay our staff wages in March.

On average the organization receives NT$8 million in donations annually. Monthly running costs are NT$700,000. Before the outbreak, forecasts suggested they would get an influx of donations after the election. That’s because those who had been donating to election campaigns would be expected to switch to the NGO. But under the shadow of the virus, the balance sheet has dropped to less than NT$200,000.

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The legislature’s annual budget is about NT$4 billion. We only have one five-hundredth of that budget. It’s really not a lot at all. We never thought that we would struggle to raise even just NT$8 million.

Founded in 2007, the group publishes oversight reports on every sitting of the legislature, enabling citizens to monitor their elected representatives and potentially weed out those who don’t live up to their jobs. CEO Chang Hung-lin is proud of their accomplishments.

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Premier Su Tseng-chang visited the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday to mobilize support behind his economic bailout bill for COVID-19. The premier paid a friendly call on newly elected Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, who hailed him as a brother. Premier Su also visited the legislative caucus of the KMT, which expressed support for the bailout. Su’s bill will be submitted for lawmakers to review on Friday.

Premier Su and his administrative team paid a visit to Speaker You.

You Si-kun
Legislative speaker
Premier Su and I have known each other for over 38 years. We’re like brothers, and we’ll work well together. If the Executive Yuan needs us to do anything to assist the country, we will absolutely offer our full support.

Su Tseng-chang
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The epidemic is worsening. The day after tomorrow, we’ll approve a set of special measures and send it to the Legislative Yuan for review as soon as possible. We’ve asked Speaker You to help with that.

The bailout bill contains measures that focus on finance, employment and the tax system. The Executive Yuan plans to finalize the bill on Thursday so the Legislative Yuan can discuss it on its opening session on Friday.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
Each industry has been affected in different ways. We’ll have measures for all of them. We hope the bill will have an effect quickly and offer support to all.

In the morning, Su and DPP caucus leaders visited the offices of opposition parties to seek support for the bill. They hope it will be passed as soon as possible.

Su Tseng-chang
Premier
We specifically came to the KMT caucus to solicit their feedback and support. If we can effectively contain the epidemic, there will be a great deal of bills, budgets and so on.

Chiang Wan-an
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Regardless of party affiliation, we all hope the bill will pass quickly to reassure the public. We also hope the government will act quickly so the Taiwanese people stranded in Wuhan and other cities severely affected by the epidemic get back to Taiwan safely.

The KMT caucus took the opportunity to make a request of its own. As the epidemic grows, it’s proving a test of cooperation between the ruling party and the opposition.

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246 Wuhan evacuees released with clean bill of health

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After 14 days in quarantine, 246 of those on Taiwan’s first evacuation flight from Wuhan are free to go.

All of them, young and old, emerged with face masks. They said it was good to be going home.

This first group of Wuhan evacuees arrived in Taiwan late at night on Feb. 3. With the exception of one passenger who was later diagnosed, everyone on the flight has been released from quarantine. But not all restrictions have been lifted. They were tested one last time before release, and will now have to perform what’s called “independent health management” for 14 days.

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It’s gratifying that they are in fine health. We’ll continue following up with them and encouraging them to look after their own health properly. We’re very grateful to have had their full cooperation during the security process. I also think that Taiwan’s experience with this case is worth sharing with the world.

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Political issues should never override the right to health. Taiwan is on the front line in dealing with the current outbreak and should not be excluded from that network.
Taiwan’s participation in the WHO would help ensure that we bring the epidemic under control in a much faster and more efficient manner. Taiwan will keep working toward this goal. It is therefore our hope that our diplomatic allies will continue to voice support for Taiwan and endorse our involvement.

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The volunteers take each pair of shoes out of the box, making sure they are wearable. Then they sort them into different bags.

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After these shoes are sorted and packaged, they are sent to Kenya and other parts of Africa.

All these discarded shoes, clothes and bags in the warehouse will be donated to Africa. Two containers are sent to Africa every month.

Many children in Kenya must walk barefoot between two and four hours to attend school. Many cannot afford shoes. Therefore, these used shoes from Taiwan can help protect locals, especially children, from a bug called jiggers. Millions of feet are infected with jiggers in many countries of East Africa. Yang Yu-jen, inspired by his father-in-law, a retired Canadian missionary, launched an online campaign "Old Shoes Save Lives." Since 2014, they have received at least 2 million shoes and have sent them all to African countries, such as Kenya and Uganda.

Yang Yu-jen
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My father-in-law first built a school there. A lot of kids they have problem with jiggers. It’s basically a parasite that will bury themselves into their feet from walking on the dirt road. They will start to lay eggs and suck their blood, and their whole legs will get infested. If severe, you might need amputation or life-threatening situations. A door opened up where we can do something for the people and the villages in Kenya. It turned into something bigger than we thought it would. Even later on, we expand to different countries is because of that concept where if there’s something we can do, let’s go do it.

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I know that we won’t be able to change everybody’s life. But if we can help some people to change their life, that they can be a leader in their community. We do our part, but there are also churches and pastors in Kenya, there’s other organizations, we’re all doing little bits and pieces to help these people. It’s really cool to see, to be able to go a few years later and see the people that you met before and and how their life has changed.

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Yang Yu-jen
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We should do prevention. We started to do educations on hygiene, we started having nurses on the ground teaching them, and then we started building those medical educational centers. I think ultimately that’s what’s going to help them. Because poverty, the thing about poverty is everything is interconnected. You cannot solve one aspect of it thinking their life is going to be better. You kind of have to tackle all different areas.

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We have the facilities. We have the resources and expertise.

The Diamond Princess was placed on a 14-day quarantine on Feb. 5. Its passengers are due to disembark on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Ahead of the date, the U.S. arranged to evacuate some of its citizens. Plans are underway for Australia, Italy, Canada, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to send charter flights.

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We have arranged two charter flights ready to take them to leave Japan on the 19th so that they can come back to Hong Kong on the 20th.

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What we have agreed to do today is to take action, by providing a direct assistance to those who are on that vessel by providing for an assisted departure flight from Japan to Australia on this Wednesday.

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