eCommerce market in Japan

Japan is the 5th largest market for eCommerce with a predicted revenue of US$117,364.5 million by 2024, placing it ahead of Germany. Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 4.1%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$137,886.4 million by 2028. With an expected increase of 5.4% in 2024, the Japanese eCommerce market contributed to the worldwide growth rate of 10.1% in 2024. Like in Japan, global eCommerce sales are expected to increase over the next years. Seven markets are considered by ECDB within the Japanese eCommerce market. Grocery is the largest market and accounts for 20.3% of the Japanese eCommerce revenue. It is followed by Electronics with 18.5%, Hobby & Leisure with 17.9%, Fashion with 17.8%, Furniture & Homeware with 16.6%, Care Products with 6.6%, and DIY with the remaining 2.2%.

The online share refers to the proportion of the retail volume that is transacted via the Internet. It includes purchases via desktop PC, tablet or smartphone, both via website or app. Only retail of physical goods is taken into account. In the Japanese retail market, the online share is 13.7% and will increase by an average of 8.6% to 19.0% by 2028.

The biggest player in the Japanese eCommerce market is amazon.co.jp. The store had a revenue of US$12,928.9 million in 2023. Store rankings include every store that generates revenue in Japan. These stores can either have a national focus and only sell in their main country or operate on a global scale. For this evaluation, only revenue created in Japan was considered.

With 95.6% VISA the most commonly offered payment method of all online stores in the Japanese eCommerce market in 2023. Like VISA the other most common offered payment methods are all Cards with Mastercard covering 95.5%, JCB covering 92.2%,American Express covering 88.9%, and Diners Club covering 75.6% of all online stores in the Japanese eCommerce market.

Despite Yamato's dominant position with 57.5% of online stores opting for its services, the Japanese eCommerce market in 2023 remains diverse and competitive. Several other shipping service providers, including Sagawa Express, Japan Post, Seino Transportation, and EMS, hold smaller but significant shares, contributing to a dynamic and fragmented market.

In the Japanese eCommerce market, there is intense competition among various shop software solutions, leading to a highly fragmented landscape in 2023. None of the major shop software solution, including Shopify, FutureShop, and MakeShop, have been able to secure a market share exceeding 9.9%, suggesting a diversified market with numerous players holding smaller stakes.