From stickers to safety checks Line Taiwan s rise as digital super app

What is a social network to do when it becomes the biggest game in town? In Taiwan, the most popular app is Line, the online service that started as a chat app and has expanded into lifestyle, fintech, content, gaming and e-commerce.

After launching in Japan in 2011, Line Taiwan was established in 2013, and today serves 94 per cent of Taiwan’s population with 22 million monthly active users -- the best penetration rate among all the markets in which Line operates. On average, Taiwanese users spend about an hour a day on the app, generating 100 million calls and one billion messages every day.

But with that success comes responsibility -– the need to ensure people’s data is safe and secure and their information sources are trustworthy. The challenges those tasks entail are well known these days, but it is a test that Line has welcomed, recognising it is a necessary part of being a market leader.

At the heart of Line Taiwan’s success has been its ability to localise. Beginning with expressive stickers and a convenient messaging platform, Line gradually built a multi-service ecosystem tailored to the interests and needs of Taiwanese users. This includes content platform Line Today, payment solutions Line Pay and Line Bank, and e-commerce offerings like Line Giftshop.

One of Line’s most successful service lines has been Line Creators Market, which launched in 2014 and soon became a significant contributor to Taiwan’s character merchandising industry. With over one million registered creators and approximately 10 million original stickers for sale, the service has helped transform personal creativity into real business opportunities. In fact, last year, the top 10 artists at Line Creators Market in Taiwan averaged NT$311 million (S$13.6 million) in sales each, showing how rewarding a hit character can be.

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