Features of Amazon, Rakuten, and Yahoo! Shopping
Of course, there is a significant difference in the annual volume of goods in circulation,
I’d also like to focus on the differences in user profiles. Depending on our products, it might be a good idea to decide which marketplaces to target first and which ones to focus on primarily.
| Amazon | Rakuten | Yahoo! | |
| Total Annual Transaction Volume (Fiscal Year 2017) | Approximately 1.8 trillion yen | Approximately 3.4 trillion yen | Approximately 1.2 trillion yen |
| Number of members (According to a 2017 survey) | 2 to 3 million people (Amazon Prime) | 95.2 million people | 19.79 million people (SoftBank-affiliated members) |
| User Characteristics | ・Men account for ◯ percent ・Many users search for and purchase specific products. | ・Purchases by women (especially homemakers) are brisk ・Impulse buying and shopping around for points and discounts are also noticeable | ・Since SoftBank users earn 10 times the points, many of them are SoftBank users. |
Costs for Each Mall
Yahoo! has a significant lead in that it has no setup or recurring fees.
| Amazon | Rakuten | Yahoo! | |
| Initial Costs | Free | 60,000 yen | Free |
| Monthly Fee | ・Large-Volume Listings: 4,900 yen ・Small-Lot Listings: 0 yen *A basic transaction fee of 100 yen per transaction is charged separately. | For each of the 4 plans 19,500–100,000 yen | Free |
| Fees (Sales and System Usage) | 8–15% (By product category) *Kindle accessory: 45% | 2.0–7.0% *Depends on the plan | Free |
| Payment Processing Fees | Free | (Rakuten Pay Fees) Settlement Amount: 2.5–3.51 TP3T | 3.24% of the credit card payment amount |
Pros and Cons of Each Online Shopping Mall
Amazon
▼Benefits for Sellers
・When you use FBA, Amazon handles everything from inventory management to shipping and packaging. What’s more, this service also handles shipping for other marketplaces.
・Since the concept of a “store” is less prominent, the barrier to listing items is relatively low.
・Since the number of Amazon Prime users is on the rise, the user base is expected to grow.
▼Disadvantages for Sellers
・There is little flexibility in designing product pages, making it difficult to create a unique look.
・It’s difficult to implement strategies for this “store,” making it hard to encourage repeat business or build a loyal customer base.
Rakuten
▼Benefits for Sellers
・Each store has a high degree of flexibility in designing its page, allowing them to focus on branding.
・Sales are expected to increase during sales events and loyalty point promotions.
・Since there are conferences and events for sellers, it's easy to exchange information.
・A Rakuten representative will be assigned to you.
▼Disadvantages for Sellers
・The booth fees and commissions are relatively high.
・It requires time and effort to manage the site, such as participating in planning and creating pages.
・The more images you handle, the more likely you'll need a server plan.
Yahoo!
▼Benefits for Sellers
・There are no initial or recurring fees for listing items.
・There are no costs associated with the email newsletter.
・You'll be assigned a Yahoo! representative.
・You can reuse your Rakuten store page.
▼Disadvantages for Sellers
・It has fewer users than Rakuten and Amazon.
・There are many vendors.
If you're not sure, start by trying Amazon!
The fact that there’s less flexibility means the operating costs are low. Why not start by giving Amazon a try?
Just between us, when the same product is sold on both Amazon and Rakuten, sales on Rakuten are often about 80% of those on Amazon.
