Japan Post partners with Internet giant Rakuten on ecommerce

One of the world’s largest ecommerce marketplaces – Japan’s Rakuten – has formed an alliance with Japan Post to expand ecommerce sales overseas. The two companies had been working together since September on a delivery service – Auction Yu-Pack – for Rakuten’s internet auction platform Rakuten Auction.

This week Rakuten said it was deepening its relationship with Japan Post to collaborate on overseas sales, helping Rakuten ecommerce merchants to enter new markets outside Japan.

The agreement will see Rakuten’s ecommerce sites using Japan Post’s online shipping functions, allowing merchants to issue express and standard international shipping labels and simplifying the shopping process.

The two firms have also pledged to provide more educational activities for merchants to encourage them to enter foreign markets.

Rakuten said it has developed a number of templates for its merchants that have difficulty in using English to set up the right payment and order processing forms to sell to overseas consumers. The company is also making staff specialists available to offer advice to interested merchants.

Global platform

As a third component of their agreement, Japan Post and Rakuten have agreed to work together to build the Rakuten Ichiba website – Japan’s largest ecommerce site – into a major international site effectively representing Japan in global ecommerce, attracting shoppers from around the world to make purchases from Japan.

This latter pledge will be taken forward through Japan Post’s overseas networks and through a “strategic global communications programme”, Rakuten said.

Founded in 1997, Rakuten generated $4.7bn USD in sales last year, and ranks amongst the world’s 10 biggest Internet companies.

The companies see major potential for international e-commerce, with sales already strong for foreign consumers buying Japanese “Manga” animation merchandise and antiques.

For Japan Post, the Rakuten partnership builds on its efforts to expand and simplify its ecommerce shipping services and expand overseas, which includes from this month the launch of a new International sPacket service offering a registered mail service for ecommerce packages at 20-30% cheaper prices for shipping compared to its Express Mail Service, along with an online shipping labels facility.

The Post sees ecommerce as a key area of growth to help counter a 3% annual decline in mail volumes.