1）What is Cross-border EC? Cross-border e-commerce, which expands the sales channels for products overseas, has been attracting a lot of attention to many online sellers. The idea is to reach out to potential customers in the world, rather than competing for the domestic market. Japan is one of those countries from a global perspective. This fact has instigated "Cross-border EC business into Japan". These days, foreign companies have increasingly shown an interest in the Japanese market due to the reasons explained later and some of them have started to enter to Japanese EC market. As a result, the competition is intensifying for Japanese companies.

Cross-border EC realizes an influx of low-priced, unusual and fashionable goods, which will win the hearts and minds of Japanese consumers. Foreign firms in China, South Korea and other countries have already entered the Japanese market, and an increasing number of companies are starting to provide support services for entering the Japanese domestic EC market in response.

2）About the Japanese domestic EC market In recent years, in terms of the size of the EC market by country, Japan ranks the fourth in the world. The overall size of the domestic EC market, when narrowed down to BtoC, exceeds JPY 20.69 trillion, with the goods sales sector alone worth more than JPY 13.28 trillion. This is a large market in global terms, and represents an opportunity for overseas businesses.

BtoC-EC market size ranking by country

Expanding into online shopping malls such as Rakuten, Amazon and Yahoo Shopping as well as your own website can attract many customers at an early stage. On the other hand, it is said that opening a shop in a major shopping mall is a hurdle for overseas businesses due to differences in language and common sense. In such cases, it is a good idea to use companies in Japan that open and operate shops on your behalf.

3） Products selected for the online shop Products that are heavy and difficult to transport
Beverages, large furniture such as sofas and beds, large household appliances such as washing machines and fridges, bedding such as futons, care products, pet food

Supplies for daily life
Tissues and toilet paper, disinfectant alcohol spray, laundry detergent and fabric softener, shampoo and conditioner, nappies and other baby items

Products sold on a limited basis
International exclusive products, seasonal collaborations and web-only products not available in the shops.

Fashion accessories and sundries
Latest trends with a focus on popular Korean fashion.

4）Japan is a cost-effective country ! No other country but Japan has as good a logistics infrastructure and other facilities, and that is the point. Warehouses are well-maintained and deliveries are generally made as soon as possible. Above all, because of its high level of delivery know-how, theft is almost non-existent. This is a major advantage for companies opening shops from abroad. It is believed that about 30% of all items are stolen when left for delivery overseas, so selling goods in Japan ensures that they are safely delivered to the customer.

5）How to find what sells based on best-selling rankings Rakuten Ichiba, where Commerce Robotics opens and operates a shop on behalf of the company, publishes a best-selling ranking based on users' purchase histories. In addition, it is also possible to check what products consumers have also purchased and confirmed its related products. So, the use of the best-selling ranking is recommended if you are looking for products that sell well in online shops.

Rakuten market best-selling ranking >>