We noted before that the future of mobile messaging apps included e-commerce, among other things, and Japanese chat app Line is taking this further as it revealed plans to hold flash sales in Taiwan, Focus Taiwan News reports. A Line representative confirmed the plans to TNW.
Line partnered with Taiwanese e-commerce group Uitox to build the m-commerce platform and will start a pilot program with an array of consumer brands on June 10. Items being sold on its platform will include cosmetics, footwear and Line’s own branded merchandise, though Line is seeking more brand partners, according to Focus Taiwan News.
Line, which has over 420 million registered users worldwide, started flash sales in Thailand late last year. Taiwan is the second country it is taking this concept into. How it works is that users must opt in by following the flash sales account, so if they don’t interest you then you won’t ever come into contact with them.
Taiwan is currently Line’s fifth-largest market with over 17 million registered users, following after Japan with 50 million, Thailand with 24 million, Indonesia with 20 million and India with 18 million users.
Line isn’t the only messaging app that has held flash sales — Tencent’s WeChat app has also done so in China. However, Line also has shopping accounts for its users to follow and purchase items that are listed, as it shapes up gradually to become a platform not only for chatting, calling, playing games and selling stickers, but also shopping.
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