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~ Rakuten ~

among your brand is to make sure that customer reviews information and want to get to know the brands they’re
are accessible and that they’re properly translated so that buying from, dedicated digital storefronts are much more
other Japanese shoppers can read them when making their popular among shoppers as opposed to simple product
selections. catalogues.

Customers expect detailed information 2. Optimise mobile device shopping
Assurance is something that Japanese consumers demand According to Rakuten e-book research, as high as 73%
when it comes to shopping online. According to Rakuten, of Japanese consumers have bought something on their
Japanese consumers do diligent research before making a mobile devices at least once. Additionally, conversion rates
purchase. One way to ensure that as much information as are also as much as 10% higher on mobile devices. Even
possible is in the product description is to use an online older Japanese consumers trend towards mobile shopping.
marketplace. A platform like Rakuten allows you to do
custom product pages that appeal to targeted customers. 3. Trust is vital
There is a lot of scepticism among Japanese consumers,
This ensures everything is appropriately translated and and they actively avoid buying from unknown e-commerce
also helps to remove any potential stumbling blocks on the sites. Also, less than a third of shoppers are comfortable
shoppers’ path from consideration to the final purchase. purchasing products from a foreign website.

Customers expect to be rewarded for their loyalty To prevent this, there are multiple e-commerce platforms
Customers expect to be rewarded for their loyalty, and that a business can choose from that already have large
according to Rakuten e-book quoted research, 46.8% of user bases in Japan. Rakuten is the one with the largest
digital buyers in Japan said they prefer to use a particular user base, the largest market share in e-commerce, and the
e-commerce site because it offers the ability to earn highest monthly active users.
points. 4
In fact, according to the research presented in the e-book,
What should your users experience in Japan? Japanese consumers tend to favour Rakuten over other
Another key component of dominating the Japanese platforms; 80% of the Japanese population uses the site
market is to pay attention to user experience. This for shopping online.
market is a mature one because online shopping has been
happening for a while in Japan, and the Japanese consumer 4. The customer is king
is more than used to buying online using excellently Being polite is extremely important in Japan. Japanese
designed e-commerce sites. culture is deeply rooted in etiquette and respect.
Exceptional customer service comes down to making sure
Keep this in mind at all times: you won’t likely be able the entire experience is catered to the customers and that
to surprise them with innovative e-commerce due to the you treat them the way that they expect to be treated.
high-quality e-commerce tradition they have, but you
should never disappoint them with a lacklustre site. Having an easy-to-navigate site on desktop and mobile,
providing reviews for potential customers to read, and
Another thing to keep in mind is that contrary to what thoughtful and thorough product descriptions will be
happens in the EU, internet usage penetration in Japan critical to Japanese e-commerce success.
remains high after the age of 50: between 50 and 59, there
is a 97% usage penetration, and between 60 and 69, there is Rakuten provides sellers with great support in the forms
at least a 90% internet usage penetration. of expert training and guidance and with outreach and
communication tools built into the platform. There is
In Europe, according to Statista, most countries report a also the Rakuten Worry-Free Guarantee to help protect
significant drop in daily internet usage share among people customers and provide them with assistance in handling
between 55 and 64, falling to 60% or less, and between their claims, which helps bolster the popularity of this
5
people over 70, sometimes falling even to 50%. massive online marketplace.
Taking this into consideration, your e-commerce should 5. More content with higher quality
follow these five recommendations to be successful in Very image-heavy and text-heavy pages may not be
Japan. something that you are used to, as this is typically seen
as off-putting and even overwhelming to your existing
1. A dedicated digital storefront customer base. However, the use of a lot of images and
Japan’s entire retail system tends to focus on individual text on your product pages is going to be something that
stores. Because Japanese consumers seek out detailed is essential in Japan. These consumers want detailed

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