Overview
Japan is the world’s third largest eCommerce market after China and the United States. The Japanese eCommerce market is categorized into three categories: business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), and consumer-to-consumer (C2C). The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published its annual eCommerce Market Survey in September 2024, estimating that the B2B market is $3.3 trillion, based on the total of all commercial transactions between companies in all industrial categories in Japan. METI estimates the B2C market is $176.8 billion and the C2C market is $18 billion and the survey reports that Japan’s eCommerce market continues to grow steadily.
Table 1: Japanese eCommerce at a glance
B2C eCommerce Market Size in 2023 | Japan’s Ranking in World eCommerce Market | Popular Online Marketplaces
| Popular Payment Methods
|
$176.8 billion |
3rd largest t | Rakuten Marketplace Amazon Japan Yahoo! Shopping
| Credit card Digital payments |
Source: FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI); FY2023 Communications Usage Trend Survey by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC); B2C e-commerce in Japan by Statistica, published on September 12, 2024
C2C eCommerce Market
According to METI’s FY2023 eCommerce Market survey, the C2C market has experienced a significant expansion. METI estimates that the C2C eCommerce market reached $17.7 billion in 2023, which is 5.0 percent higher than in 2022. This survey estimates the size of the market based on the general merchandise value made at flea market apps and online auctions. Since some businesses sell at online flea markets and online auctions, the C2C market in this report includes some B2C eCommerce sales.
Flea markets are common in Japan and are held at various places, such as event space at local shopping malls, train stations and parks. When digital flea market apps became available in 2012, it expanded the C2C eCommerce market significantly. Popular apps/websites for online flea markets and auctions include Yahoo! Auction, Mercari, Yahoo! Fleam and Rakuten Rakuma.
Yahoo! Auction
Mercari:
Yahoo! Fleama
Rakuten Rakuma:
Chart 1: Japan C2C eCommerce market size, 2018-2023 Units: Yen billion:
The growth of Japan’s C2C ecommerce market size in billions of yen from 2018 to 2023. The market shows a steady upward trend: starting at 1,589.1 in 2018 and reaching 2,481.7 in 2023.
Source: FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI)
B2C eCommerce Market
The B2C eCommerce market has high growth potential, with only 9.4 percent of overall physical merchandise sales in the country attributed to online channels. Japan is the world’s third largest eCommerce market after China, and the United States, according to a private research institute showing that the total of the B2C eCommerce was estimated at $176.8 billion in 2023, an increase of 9.2 percent from 2022. The latest Survey of Household Economy, conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (“MIC”), shows that the number of Japanese households shopping online and the amount that Japanese households spend online have been growing steadily in 2025. U.S. companies may consider selling to Japanese consumers through eCommerce as a way to enter the Japanese market.
According to METI’s FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey, the market size of the merchandising sector was estimated at $104.5 billion, an increase of 4.8 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. The service sector is estimated at $42.5 billion, and the digital sector is estimated at $15 billion, estimating the total B2C eCommerce market at $176.8 billion. Grand View Research, a private research institute, anticipates that Japan’s B2C eCommerce market will maintain an 8.6 percent growth rate annually until 2030. METI’s survey further reported that Japanese consumers engaged in almost $3 billion worth of cross-border online shopping from U.S. outlets in 2023, an increase of 5.8 percent from the previous year, indicating that Japanese consumers are buying more products not only from Japanese online stores but also from U.S. online retailers.
Table 2: Total Market Size – B2C eCommerce, Unit: US$ millions
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 estimated | 2025 estimated |
Total B2C eCommerce | $17,418.3 | $17,682.2 | $17,764.1 | $19,123.6 |
Merchandising segment | $10,649.40 | $10,445.55 | $10,493.93 | $11,297.05 |
Service segment | $4,676.5 | $5,350.1 | $5,374.9 | $5,786.2 |
Digital segment | $1,975.8 | $1,886.5 | $1,895.3 | $2,040.3 |
Exchange Rates | 131.46 | 140.50 | 151.46 | 152.37 |
Source: FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI),
Japan B2C E-commerce Market Size & Outlook, 2023-2030 by Grand View Research
Chart 2: Growth of B2C eCommerce Market, Unit: Billion Japanese Yen.
Japan’s B2C market grew steadily upward from 12,797 in 2014 to 24,844 in 2023.
Source: FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry (METI).
Chart 3: Japanese Households Shop Online: 2017-2024 Unit: Japanese Yen)
The percentage of Japanese households shopping online grew steadily from 52.7% in 2022 to 55.3% in 2024.
Source: The Survey of Household Economy, conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) released on February 7, 2025.
Chart 4: Japanese Households Shop Online: January 2022-March 2025, Unit: Japanese Yen
The percentage of Japanese households shopping online grew steadily from an average of about 52.7% in 2022 to approximately 55.8% by March 2025.
Source: The Survey of Household Economy released by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) on May 9, 2025.
Also, on May 14, 2025, Rakuten Group, which is the largest online marketplace in Japan, reported a sales revenue increase of 6.9% for the first quarter (January 2025 through March 2025) and reached an all-time high of $2 billion.
Leading Sub-sectors of eCommerce Sales
METI’s FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey reports that the top eCommerce sales products are food and beverages; home appliances, including personal computer-related products and accessories; apparel and fashion accessories; and household goods and furniture.
Sales of these four categories total more than $77 billion, representing approximately 73% of the total B2C merchandise market. Among all product categories sold online in Japan, the food and beverage category yields the greatest sales revenue. However, eCommerce transactions for food and beverages constitute only 4.29% of the overall food and beverage market in Japan, with most sales taking place in brick-and-mortar retail stores.
Table 3: Market Size of B2C eCommerce (Merchandise) (Unit: US$ million)
Sales in 2023 | Growth from 2022 | eCommerce Penetration | |
| Food, Beverages, and Alcohol | $2,085 | 6.52% | 4.29% |
Home Appliances, AV Equipment, PCs, and Accessories | $1,910 | 5.13% | 42.88% |
| Apparel and Accessories | $1,901 | 4.76% | 22.88% |
| Household Goods, Home Decor, Furniture | $1,760 | 5.01% | 31.54% |
| Total | $10,446 | 4.83% | 9.38% |
Source: FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by METI
Motivations for Shopping through eCommerce Channels
Chart 5: Leading Reasons for Online Shopping in Japan
The top reasons Japanese consumers shop online are the ability to shop any time, the convenience of having goods delivered at home, and low prices.
Source: February 2024 Statista report
Cross-Border eCommerce
According to Statista, the global cross-border B2C eCommerce market had an estimated value of $562 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach a value of $1.21 trillion in 2025. The FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey by METI reported that Japanese consumers engaged in almost $2.7 billion worth of cross-border online shopping from U.S. outlets in 2023, an increase of 5.8 percent from the previous year, indicating that Japanese consumers are buying more products online from domestic sellers and directly from U.S. online retailers as well.
Table 4: Japan’s Cross-Border eCommerce from U.S. and China (Unit: $ million)
Cross Border Market size | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 estimate | 2025 estimate |
Japan’s Cross-Border B2C Exports to U.S. and China: $ Million | $3,059,541.2 | $2,709,949.8 | $2,782,847.0 | $2,759,595.3 | $2,932,389.1 |
Japan’s Cross-Border B2C Imports from U.S. and China: $ Million | $3,393.12 | $3,007.76 | $2,995.02 | $2,969.99 | $3,155.96 |
Growth from previous year | 9.10% | 6.09% | 6.42% | 6.90% | 6.90% |
Imports from US: $ Million | $3,060.82 | $2,708.81 | $2,681.85 | $2,659.44 | $2,825.97 |
Growth from previous year | 9.30% | 5.92% | 5.81% | 6.90% | 6.90% |
Exports to U.S.: $ Million | $1,112.89 | $993.15 | $1,053.24 | $1,044.44 | $1,109.84 |
Trade Surplus/Deficit: $ Million | -$8,068.10 | -$7,222.73 | -$7,850.53 | -$7,784.94 | -$8,272.40 |
Exchange Rates | 109.84 | 131.46 | 140.5 | 151.46 | 152.37 |
Source: METI FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey, Japan Cross-border E-commerce Market Report by Grand View Research
Global-e’s Cross-Border eCommerce Shopper Survey Report 2022 shows that the top three reasons consumers purchase products from foreign countries are better prices (47%); variety of products (37%); and better product quality (28%
Chart 6: Popular Product Categories for Cross-Border B2C eCommerce in 2023
The most popular cross-border online shopping products categories worldwide for 2023 include the following: Clothing, apparel, footwear (39%); consumer electronics (20%); personal care and beauty products (17%); and sporting goods (14%).
Source: Cross-border e-commerce by Statista, published on June 21, 2024
Options for Entering the Japanese B2C eCommerce Market
U.S. companies selling directly to Japanese consumers through eCommerce channels can consider a few business models:
Work with a Japanese eCommerce seller/service provider
Japanese companies that sell through Rakuten Ichiba (Marketplace) and Amazon Japan can act as partners and service providers for U.S. retailers. By partnering with a Japanese eCommerce seller, U.S. companies may be able to start selling online to Japanese consumers with minimum investment. Japanese eCommerce retailers often act as partners for foreign companies by providing services, including managing necessary processes, including with importation of goods, localization of product information, listing products on Rakuten Marketplace and Amazon Japan, marketing, and providing customer service in Japanese language and local delivery. Working with a Japanese service provider may be the easier and requires less resources than other options depending on the U.S. company’s strategies.
Open an account on Japanese eCommerce websites
U.S. companies can list products without a Japanese partner on Amazon Japan and Rakuten Marketplace. If a U.S. company has a seller account with Amazon U.S., the seller can expand its account to Amazon Japan and use services like Fulfillment by Amazon and Amazon Ads to handle importation, third party logistics and warehousing, and marketing. For more information, please visit Amazon’s global selling in Japan webpage.
Rakuten Marketplace, Japan’s largest online marketplace, also provides an option for U.S. sellers to open stores on its eCommerce platform. Rakuten has a team that specializes in overseas business and helps foreign sellers prepare materials for submission to open a store on its platform. Rakuten’s Shop Open Advisor helps foreign sellers through the process of setting up a shop page, such as registering items, uploading company information, setting return and shipping policy, and creating the storefront. For more information, please visit https://marketplace.rakuten.net/.
U.S. companies need to make a strong commitment to the Japanese market as it will require significant time and resources. For example, U.S. companies need to hire someone in Japan or hire service providers to undertake the following activities:
develop a localized website in Japanese.
run necessary marketing campaigns, such as search engine optimization (“SEO”) campaigns;
serve as an importer of record in Japan to carry out various duties such as clearing Japanese customs;
manage domestic logistics, including operations and costs for warehousing and fulfillment; and
provide customer service to consumers
Cross-Border eCommerce
Through cross-border eCommerce, U.S. sellers receive orders from Japanese consumers and ship the order directly to consumers in Japan. By sending products directly to Japanese consumers, U.S. sellers may avoid certain Japanese testing and licensing import requirements that apply to goods shipped from the United States to a Japanese distributor. Cross-border eCommerce does not require a Japanese partner or logistics and is thus the option that requires the least resources and risks. However, cross border sales tend to be limited, and developing a strategy to attract Japanese consumers such as providing Japanese-language web pages and customer service is necessary.
U.S. companies should consider these additional costs of doing direct to consumer business when they set a retail price for their products on Japanese eCommerce platforms. In addition, if a U.S. company starts selling directly to Japanese consumers through eCommerce channels, it may be difficult to find a distributor later. One of a potential Japanese distributor’s major concerns in entering a commercial relationship with a U.S. seller is end-user pricing and the impact on distributor mark-up.
Leading B2C eCommerce Platforms in Japan
Rakuten, Amazon Japan, and Yahoo! Shopping are the major online shopping platforms in Japan.
Rakuten is the largest online shopping platform with more than 100 million registered members. Its gross merchandise sales (“GMS”) exceeded $$40.3 billion in 2024. By comparison, the GMS of Yahoo! Shopping was $29.9 billion, in 2023 and Amazon reported in its annual report that the revenue of Amazon Japan in 2024 was $27.4 billion, an increase of 5.3 percent from 2023.
Research shows that Japanese customers visit Amazon.co.jp with specific products in mind, whereas customers at Rakuten and Yahoo! explore various product categories. At this moment, only Fulfillment by Amazon (“FBA”) and Rakuten are options for U.S. companies to sell in the Japanese market without having a physical presence in the country.
eCommerce platforms in Japan:
- Rakuten
- Amazon Japan
- Yahoo! Shopping
Mobile Commerce
MIC’s 2023 Communications Usage Trend Survey showed that 90.6 percent of Japanese households have smartphones and that 90.4 percent of Japanese households use smartphones to access the internet. With more Japanese residents using smartphones, more consumers are naturally shopping online using mobile devices. As a result, according to METI’s FY2023 eCommerce Market Survey, 58.7 percent of Japan’s online sales of goods were completed by smartphone.
Popular eCommerce Payment Methods
Credit Cards, Convenience Stores, and Payment on Delivery
According to the FY2023 Communications Usage Trend Survey by MIC, 76.7 percent of Japanese consumers used credit cards (including debit cards) for online purchases. While credit cards are Japan’s most popular payment method, 34.7 percent of Japanese residents pay for products ordered online at convenience stores according to the same survey by MIC. Japan has almost 56,000 convenience stores, and most of these outlets are open 24 hours seven days a week. Payment at convenience stores is a popular option for consumers who do not have credit cards and who are away from home during the day. After placing an order online, a consumer can receive a payment slip with a barcode or payment number from the vendor. The consumer can then go to the convenience store and pay for the ordered product at the counter by cash or pay at a payment kiosk. For example, Lawson’s Japanese convenience store has a payment kiosk called the “Loppi Machine.”
Payment on delivery is also popular; almost 17.8 percent of buyers use this payment method. Considered unique to Japan, payment on delivery involves the delivery service driver collecting payment for ordered product(s) at the time of delivery. There is a small charge for this service, usually $2.00-$3.00. Payment on delivery is principally used by consumers who do not have a credit card, prefer paying by cash, and who are generally at home during most of the day.
Japan’s Point Systems
In Japan’s retail economy generally, point systems are popular and build customer loyalty. The point system allows shoppers to earn points on purchases that can later be used towards purchasing items. This payment method has been successful in Japan as it draws in more customers and incentivizes them to continue making purchases to earn more points and greater discounts. According to a 2024 survey on the Japanese point system by Yano Research Institute, the value of points issued was worth approximately Yen 2.7 trillion (US$ 18.9 billion) in 2023 and was estimated to grow up to Yen 2.9 trillion (US$ 19.24 billion) in 2025.
According to a 2025 survey on the points system by G-Plan, a Japanese agency that provides a platform for point exchange, the most accumulated points in Japan are Rakuten points, as they can be earned and used across Rakuten’s ecosystem, including its eCommerce platform, mobile service, travel service, and Rakuten Pay payment app. In 2022, twenty years after launching its point system, Rakuten announced the total cumulative number of points issued exceeded three trillion, with each point equaling one yen. The second most accumulated points are PayPay points, a reward program associated with the Japanese PayPay digital wallet.
Online B2C platforms often run special time-limited campaigns double- or triple-point days and offer additional points to attract new customers. The resources for points reward programs are mostly funded by online marketplace platforms, but merchants must cover a portion of the expenses as well. For example, Rakuten charges merchants 1.0% of their sales so that profits can be used to fund points systems.
Low Return rate
The return rate is relatively low in Japan, although not all sellers accept returns and exchanges. According to a 2023 E-commerce site returns and exchanges survey report by Recustomer, a private service provider, the average return rate in FY2023 was 6.61%. The survey reports that 68.3% of online stores accept returns and exchange requests due to customer convenience. Sellers who do not accept return/exchange requests due to the customer convenience usually provide highly- detailed product information to manage customer expectations. Rakuten says “their desire for transparency and detailed product information is met by the content-rich and granular product listings found on Japanese e-commerce marketplaces, resulting in a low 3-5% return rate.”
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews on Japanese eCommerce platforms are very influential when consumers are deciding to purchase a product, just as they are in the United States. However, the number of reviews on Amazon Japan is generally far smaller than Amazon US. Therefore, a few excellent reviews of a product on Amazon Japan products can make a significant positive impact on the customer and lead to greater sales for the seller, compared to the same product needing hundreds or thousands of positive reviews on Amazon US to set it firmly above its competitors.
Resources
Specified Commercial Transactions Act
U.S. companies interested in the Japanese eCommerce market are expected to abide by Japan’s sales rules and regulations. For example, Japan’s Specified Commercial Transactions Act, regulated by the Consumer Affairs Agency, applies to all B2C eCommerce businesses. The purpose of the Specified Commercial Transactions Act is to protect consumers from business operators’ illegal or malicious solicitations and requires sellers to clearly disclose the price of products, shipping costs, payment methods, and any other costs for which consumers are responsible. The Act also requires online sellers to list the seller’s name, company/store name, street address, phone number, and person in charge of the online business.
Detailed information about the Specified Commercial Transactions Act can be found at the following link: https://www.no-trouble.caa.go.jp/foreignlanguage/english/index.html
Additional Laws and Regulations
Imported products for resell in Japan must comply with all applicable Japanese laws and regulations. The following are examples of Japanese laws applicable to consumer goods:
The Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act (electrical appliances)
The Household Goods Quality Labeling Act (textiles and apparel products)
The Consumer Product Safety Act (electrical appliances, gas appliances, and general consumer products)
The Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (medicine, cosmetics)
Directory of Business Service Providers
The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan has a directory of business service providers on its website. In addition, Amazon’s Service Provider Network also has listings of various service providers that can help U.S. companies sell online in Japan. Links to these resources are provided below.
ACCJ’s Member Service Provider Directory
Amazon Service Provider Network
U.S. Commercial Service Japan Contact
For more information about eCommerce developments in Japan and related opportunities for U.S. firms, please contact the U.S. Commercial Service at Office.Tokyo@trade.gov or Ms. Hirono Taki at hirono.taki@trade.gov.