【About Taiwan】Where to Shop in Taiwan?

Skin Care, Cosmetics, and Medicine

Sometimes you might forgot something and have to buy those things during your stay in Taiwan, and where to go if you need them? Here are lists of places that you can buy medicine or other necessities during your Taiwan tour!

Watsons (屈臣氏)

Originally from Hong Kong, Watsons is a well known drugstore that sells health and beauty care. The brand is trusted in Europe and Asia, including Taiwan since it has been around since 1987. Currently it has 588 stores around Taiwan and most of them are near MRT stations, definitely an easy task to spot them nearby! There is one massive Watsons with four floors near Ximending area, check it out if you have the time.

COSMED (康是美)

COSMED is a local skin care and cosmetic shop with more than 400 stores around Taiwan. It is said that Watsons have better selections for makeup but COSMED is definitely a place you want to go when searching for skincare, especially if you want to try local brands, such as My Beauty Diary, My Scheming, or Neogence. (Read more: 9 best Taiwanese skincare brands). If you see an orange store, there is a high percentage that it is this flagship store

POYA (寶雅)

POYA, also known as POYA Beauty. They have personal care beauty brands and daily necessities. The store even has medicines, snacks and beverages, stationery, and clothing accessories you might need. It currently has 323 flagship stores around Taiwan, check them out if you have time.

Convenience Store

Do you know how many convenience stores locate in Taiwan?

There are more than 13,000 convenience stores across Taiwan! No wonder it seems you can see one in every street when having a Taiwan tour. Not only do they sell food or necessary items, they have ATMs and also a place to reload your transportation card (EasyCard). Another fun thing to do in convenience stores is to try tea egg, which are generally affordable (NTD 13-18). For locals, they even use these convenience stores’ PO Box to mail their packages, just because it is easy to pick it up there.

There are four big well-known convenience stores, which convenience store is the best? We will let you decide by yourself after reading this article

7-Eleven

7-Eleven has  6,631 chain stores in Taiwan (as from December 2022). Why are they so popular? The convenience stores in Taiwan are not as overpriced as in other part of the world. They offer great service with affordable prices and even there are special themed 7-Eleven throughout Taiwan! Check out this Sumikko Gurashi themed 7-Eleven in Taipei and arranged for your Taipei private tour!

If you are hungry you can spend less than NT$ 100 to eat at 7-Eleven. Not only a place to eat, you can get your morning coffee here or drink beer with your friends at night here, as most of the stores have seats. Other services it has includes ATM, EasyCard recharge, buying bus or train tickets, and many more (Read more: Your Indispensable Friend in Taiwan – 7-11)

FamilyMart

FamilyMart has its own specialties that make it different from the other chains, from their seasonal Fami ice cream to Frappy (Read more: Family Mart vs 7-11, What’s Your Choice?). It also offers transportation cards, self-service kiosks, and even convenience to print your necessities. The first part of their name symbolises their ideology to service customers like a family running a local store. 

The Japanese convenience store chain first opened near Taipei Main Station in 1988. As for 2022, FamilyMart has more than 4,100 stores in Taiwan

Hi-Life

Hi-Life is a local brand with more or less 1,600 locations around Taiwan. First founded in the cultural center of Taipei, Dihua Street. Same like the two brands above, Hi-Life provides all kinds of daily necessities. It has its own pastry brand called “Bread First”. It also has its own service kiosk that handle various types of payments from utility bills to booking train or bus tickets. What makes the brand different is its “buy now, pick up later” function on their app, which allows anyone to just pick up their coffee or groceries.

OK Mart

The brand was originally a franchise of USA convenience store, Circle K. However, after contract expiration in 2007, it has grown independently and become more known as OK Mart in Taiwan, with more than 850 stores in Taiwan.

Not only convenience store, it also has developed OK mini, their own vending machine that mostly provides snacks and necessities. Definitely a perfect for treats, if you need one.

Supermarket

Where do people shop in Taiwan? If it is about groceries, people tend to divide into two areas, the traditional markets or the supermarket. The supermarkets in Taiwan are generally cheap (cheaper than convenience stores) and offer a comfortable shopping experience, also a recommended spot for a Taiwan family trip.

PX Mart (全聯)

If you ask, “What is the most popular supermarket in Taiwan?”, a lot will answer PX Mart. It has a great length of things you might need, from daily supplies to groceries. Not to mention, it is the largest local supermarket in Taiwan with more than 1,000 stores. If you are searching for some edible souvenirs to bring back for your loved ones, you can consider buying local products in PX Mart. It also offers some cooked meals, a great selection of bread and peeled fruits, so if you are hungry, it can also be a great choice!

Simple Mart (美廉社)

Simple Mart is the second largest supermarket chain store in Taiwan with more than 800 stores. Generally its store are not overly massive, but definitely bigger than a convenience store. It is easily spotted in residential areas. 

Carrefour (家樂福)

Carrefour is well known throughout the world. It has a great selection of imported products and also freshly roasted or baked foods. Some of them have self-checkout counters which are pretty convenient if you don’t shop a lot. There are different types of Carrefour, hypermarket sized Carrefour sells everything you expect to see (groceries, electrical appliances, clothes, toys, etc. ) while the smaller sized Carrefour market are more frequent but does not sell as much. There is one big 24-h Carrefour in Guilin Taipei that sells Taiwanese traditional snacks or souvenirs.

Department Store

Is Taiwan good for shopping? If you want to look from the side of department stores, Taiwan definitely has some of the best ones!

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is the largest department store chain in Taiwan with 22 stores. The oldest one was built in 1991 in Nanjing Road but the most famous one in Taipei is probably  in Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi (near Taipei 101). It is also available in Taoyuan, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. They are all complete with fashion items, luxurious brands, supermarkets, and food courts.

SOGO and Far Eastern Department Stores

Another good department store if you want to buy luxurious brands or even window shopping. Their first store in Zhongxiao is especially suitable for high-end goods. SOGO then joined hands with Far Eastern in Taiwan and established 8 department stores around Taiwan. Their other stores are equally lively and has everything you would expect from department stores.

Bookstore

Buying books in Taiwan? Taiwan is a perfect book heaven, don’t worry about your genre or language, it will be available in Taiwan.

Eslite Bookstore (誠品書店)

This Taiwanese bookstore retail has the perfect atmosphere for you to stroll for books or find a seat to read some! The ambience in every store is perfectly arranged and their store can be seen in urban areas from North to South in Taiwan! When it first opened in Dunhua, it was famous for its unique ways to sort their books by theme as opposed to the then popular publishing house or subject arrangement. Don’t worry about shopping too much, there are also tax refunds if you spend more than NTD 3,000.

Kingstone (金石堂書店)

It’s an relaxing experience at Kingstone, especially with its locally-inspired features. It offers not only local and foreign books, but also stationery sections. The first store was opened in 1983. Now the chain store has more than 60 bookstores across Taiwan. Check out these places during your stay in Taiwan. Don’t forget to check their opening hours before going.

And that’s the tea. We can also do a customized tour for you. Follow our instagram for more amazing Taiwan!!!