TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — There was a strong surge in business for food delivery services due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Taiwan last year, especially outside Taipei City and New Taipei City, the National Credit Card Center (NCCC) said Saturday (Feb. 13).

Changes in the public’s consumer habits were especially notable during the first half of 2020, when both the number of transactions and the amount of money involved showed marked increases, CNA reported. The most notable rises occurred outside of the dense northern population centers of Taipei and New Taipei, with the number of food delivery service users in the southern city of Tainan rising twentyfold, according to NCCC data.

Last April, the number of credit card transactions involving food delivery services nationwide reached 6 million, for a total value of NT$1.2 billion (US$42.8 million). After the pandemic softened in May and June, the value of transactions remained above NT$1 billion, showing that consumers had adapted and were keeping to their new habits, the NCCC said.

While more than 60 percent of credit card holders initially using the food delivery services had been living in Taipei or New Taipei, the proportion gradually dropped to 40 percent, with residents of Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, and Tainan showing the strongest increases.

During the first half of 2020, each credit card owner making use of food delivery services registered an average of 4.63 transactions per month, compared to 3.45 during the same period in 2019. More than 60 percent of the transactions amounted to NT$200 or less, with 90 percent involving payments of NT$500 or less.

Looking into the demographics of the business, the NCCC found that 90 percent of users were younger than 45, while 60 percent were women.