Iraishimase! Say Konnichiwa to the Japanese eCommerce Market!

If you’ve ever stepped inside a shop in Japan, you’ll know what a memorable experience it is. Cries of ‘Iraishimase!’ sound out from all sides as shop assistants greet you and usher you through the aisles, falling over themselves to help and be at your service. It’s quite an experience.

Replicating this online is a little tricky, but the Japanese eCommerce opportunities are no less welcoming.

As the 4^th largest eCommerce market in the world, with over 74% of the population (that’s 88 million consumers) buying online last year, if you haven’t thought about selling into the Japanese market before, perhaps its time to think again.

According to the recent reports, Japan’s eCommerce market is expected to exceed $112 billion in 2021 and $325 billion by 2026 as the country makes the digital journey of moving from brick and mortar stores to online shopfronts. This makes sense considering how dense the urban landscape is, the advanced internet infrastructure and how technically savvy its citizens are. In addition, Japan’s distribution channels are highly developed, and the country’s small size makes shipping and product delivery efficient for all.

Japan’s Top 10 eCommerce Marketplaces

While Amazon Japan, Yahoo Japan, and Rakuten are the leading three eCommerce marketplaces in Japan, accounting for more than 50% of all eCommerce revenue, and Amazon especially driving the market due to their same-day delivery offering, there are several others worthy of looking into.

1. Amazon Japan
2. Rakuten
3. Yahoo! Auctions Japan
4. Yahoo! Shopping Japan
5. Mercari
6. DMM
7. Zozo Town
8. Wowma
9. Rakuma
10. Qoo10 Japan

The Best Products to Sell in Japan

With a projected market volume of $28 billion, the Japanese market’s largest segment is Food and Personal Care products. But there are plenty of opportunities for profit in other segments, too. Clothing is a major category, as are books, personal care, and cosmetics.

Of course, you don’t just have to be selling physical products to this lucrative market. Travel and hotel bookings are also done through online methods and car insurance, e-books, online tickets, and entertainment sales are popular items as well.

Things to Keep in Mind When Selling Online in Japan

• The vast majority of Japanese people only read Japanese and feel most comfortable buying only from sites in Japanese.
• Japanese consumers greatly value detail and transparency and want to get a full picture of the product they’re buying. This means the way you present your products and store is crucial for making the right impression.
• For this reason, a large part of the population will use price comparison sites before buying to ensure they are getting the best deal possible.
• Think mobile. As mobile became a far more advanced channel in Japan before many other countries, Japanese consumers are very mobile savvy and make most of their online purchases while on the go.
• The most popular season for online spending is the summer when many Japanese workers get their annual bonus. Other major holidays include White Day (March 14^th) and the standard international holidays of Christmas and New Year.

Read on for more great tips on how to sell in Japan.

How to Get Paid from Japanese Marketplaces

Payoneer’s Global Payment Service provides you with access to international receiving accounts, which essentially act like a local bank account and allow marketplaces like Amazon Japan, Rakuten and many other Japanese online marketplaces to pay you as easily as a Japanese-based online merchant. This makes it easy for you to receive payments in Japanese currency, and the best part is…ZERO currency conversion fees when receiving payments and ZERO loading fees!

Once payments have been received, you can then withdraw them to your local bank account, transfer to another currency using our ‘Manage Currencies’ function within your account, or use the funds to pay suppliers and contractors directly. Your all-in-one business solution can all be managed from one place.

Amazon Sellers, set up your account by following these 4 simple steps:

1. Sign in toyour Payoneer account
2. Go to the Receive menu and select Global Payment Service
3. Click JPY to display your JPY receiving account details
4. Add your JPY receiving account details to Amazon Seller Central Japan.

So, now you’ve had a brief overview of the Japanese market, there’s no need to wait. After all, this is the Land of the Rising Sun, and with growing numbers like these, make sure to catch this sun while it’s still rising, and you too can shine brightly with it!

Learn more about Japanese receiving accounts