How to open a shop on Rakuten
Learn how to roll out your e-commerce store on Rakuten Ichiba, Japan's top online shopping mall with active user base of 100 million shoppers.
Pick your contract
There are two basic ways for businesses outside Japan to open stores. Please select whichever method works best for you.
| Contract Type |
Direct Contract (Basic Shop Open Plan) |
Outsource to Service Partner |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The overseas business entity signs a direct contract for store opening with Rakuten Ichiba. | The overseas business entity signs an outsourcing contract with the service partner, who then signs a direct contract on your behalf with Rakuten Ichiba. | |||
| Countries Applicable |
USA
Canada
UK
France
Germany
Australia
South Korea
Taiwan
Hong Kong
China
Denmark
Netherlands
Spain
Italy
Singapore
Switzerland
|
Other | ||
| Payments | Overseas Business Entity → Rakuten | Overseas Business Entity → Service Partner → Rakuten | ||
| Rakuten →Overseas Business Entity | Rakuten → Service Partner → Overseas Business Entity | |||
| Customer Service | Overseas Business Entity | Service Partner | ||
| Store Operations | Overseas Business Entity | Service Partner | ||
| Product Shipping | Overseas Business Entity | Overseas Business Entity | ||
| Japanese Staff | Required (Service Partners available) | Unnecessary (Service Partner) | ||
| Supported Integration |
Shopify
|
None | ||
Mamenta
|
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Rithum
|
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Cost & Fees
Estimated costs will vary based on whether you make a direct contract with Rakuten (Ichiba Basic Shop Open Plan), or choose to outsource to one of our service partners.
| Costs |
Direct Contract (Basic Shop Open Plan ) |
Outsource to Service Partner |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration Fee | ¥60,000 | Varies by Service Partner. Our Onboarding Consultants can assist you in recommending the best plan and partner to match your business needs. | |
| Monthly Fixed Fee | ¥65,000 | ||
| Monthly Fee: 2 Installments (6 months each) | |||
| Contract Period | 1 Year | ||
| Listing Capacity | 20,000 Items* *Can request for more after shop open | ||
| Commission Fees | System Fee | PC: 2.0%-4.0% (Mobile: 2.5% - 4.5% ) System fees decrease as sales volume increases. | |
| Rakuten Super Points Fee | 1% of Monthly Sales | ||
| System Enhancement Fee for Improving Safety and Usability on the marketplace | 0.1% of Monthly Sales | ||
| Rakuten Super Affiliate | (1) Incentive Fee Rate: 2% ~ 4% of affiliate sales | ||
| (2) System Fee Rate: 15% ~ 30% of (1) | |||
Requirements
Japanese Capabilities
Highly proficient Japanese capabilities will be required for:
- Store Setup
- Customer Support
- Page Maintenance
- Order and Return Management
- Marketing Campaigns
Our partnered Service Partners are all highly qualified in Japanese proficiencies.
*Our Shop Interface, RMS (Rakuten Merchant Server) is only provided in Japanese.
Established Logistics
You will need to establish reliable logistics in order to ship products directly from the merchants to end users in Japan.
Rakuten offers various logistics solutions, including Rakuten Super Logistics and partnerships with other logistics providers to tailor the best solution for your business.
Applicable Products
All items must comply with applicable Japanese laws.
During the screening process, Rakuten may ask the seller to submit supplemental documentation regarding certain products.
Foreign Exchange Risk
Given that products are sold in Japanese Yen, be prepared to manage foreign exchange currency fluctuations.
Qualified Credit Report
Rakuten requires business to be incorporated and provide a good credit file. For your application, Rakuten may require either a Creditsafe report score, or the Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S number.
Merchant onboarding process
It takes about one and a half months from submitting your application to opening your shop on Rakuten Ichiba.
Application 2 ~ 4 weeks
All merchants are required to go through onboarding screening. An Onboarding Consultant will support you to prepare the necessary documents depending on your merchandise and shop operation plan.
Once you pass all stages of screening, you will be issued an account upon payment, and can start creating your our shop.
Contract Agreement
After you gain access to RMS (Rakuten Merchant Server), the next step will be to register your items in Japanese, upload your company's information, set your return and shipping policy, and create your storefront. A Shop Open Adviser will be standing by to support you with set up.
Store Setup 3 ~ 4 weeks
Your assigned Shop Open Advisor will guide you through the process of setting up your shop page, such as registering your items, uploading your company's information, setting your return and shipping policy, and creating your storefront.
Store open!
Finally, your store goes live!
Learn more