Japan, a country known for its bustling street markets that draw thousands of tourists and locals alike every day, also birthed Rakuten, an online marketplace that enjoys the highest popularity of all e-commerce sites in Japan. Founded in 1997, Rakuten now enjoys worldwide popularity and offers more than 17 million products for sale.
Hiroshi Mikitani, a former banker and consultant, started Rakuten with just $250,000 in seed money and intends to become a world leader through innovative e-commerce initiatives and a worldwide approach to selling and shipping. Although Mikitani started Rakuten with Japanese customers in mind, the company now serves customers all around the world.
The company purchased the US brand Buy.com, which it rebranded as Rakuten.com. It also acquired a host of other online properties from other countries, including France, Brazil, Canada, and the UK.
Rakuten positions itself as an easy, convenient shopping hub that connects merchants and consumers. Until it purchased Buy.com, the marketplace didn’t participate in transactions as a buyer, instead focusing on facilitating transactions between others. Now, however, shoppers can buy products directly from Buy.com (Rakuten) or from individual merchants.
Operating under the tagline “Shopping Is Entertainment,” Rakuten strives to make the online shopping experience as enjoyable as possible. It gives merchants the chance to customize their own brands and positioning statements, which makes the site an eclectic place to shop.
Rakuten.com sells numerous categories of consumer products, from electronics and toys to housewares and movies, to apparel and skin care products. It also has a loyalty program that inspires customers to return to its pages and publishes daily deals to help consumers save money on the products they love.
The site is extremely well-designed with plenty of white space and an easily navigable layout. Most product pages feature multiple images of the item for sale as well as detailed descriptions and opportunities to save money.
Although Rakuten enjoys widespread popularity in Japan and other countries, its position in the U.S. still lags behind Amazon and eBay. As an e-commerce site, it must also compete with auction websites and e-commerce platforms that are based in the U.S. and Europe.
It continues to grow, however, launching an affiliate program and partnering with us to help facilitate international transactions. Rakuten focuses on helping consumers purchase products they love from people they trust, rather than from faceless machines. In this way, Hiroshi Mikitani could still achieve is goal of “beating Amazon” and become a heavy hitter in every country.
You can get involved with Rakuten in three ways: become a seller, become a buyer, or join the affiliate program. Each offers multiple advantages, especially for sellers.
The sign-up process for sellers is easier than that on many e-commerce website, which means Rakuten offers fewer barriers to entry. The company pays its sellers once per week, so you can earn income quickly and easily if you have products to sell.
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