Online Shopping In Japan

So what's going on with the Web in Japan? Well, the days of the all-in-one shopping site seem to have finally come to an end and, like the US, distinct categories are beginning to emerge. Computer hardware and software, travel, office supplies and event tickets are some of the leading areas of online commerce in Japan. After a couple of hours of Web surfing, I was quite impressed with the state of Japan's shopping sites. Many of the sites are using intuitive shopping-cart style ordering systems and even with my limited command of Japanese I was able to gather items and place orders.

Nikkei Multimedia has recently completed a survey showing that women are the most active shoppers on the Japanese Internet. While it is common knowledge that women wield the financial power in most families, it is good news to see that they are continuing to do so as they migrate online. According to Nikkei, among Japanese users of the Internet, 61.7% of women users have completed Web-based shopping transactions, as compared with 45.5% of men. If these numbers are to be trusted (this is the sixth time in three years that Nikkei has done the survey) then Japan's consumer readiness is well on its way to prime time.

Areas to watch
Japan's two large gift-giving seasons have spawned a plethora of tiny websites catering to consumers who want to handle all the ordering and gift selection online. Not to be outdone, some of Japan's larger department stores are also offering online ordering services. This is great for consumers and looks to become a big business-to-business service in the near future. Another category to watch is stock trading. Recent deregulation has opened up this area and Softbank, among others, is making moves to establish its presence. In the US, Charles Schwab recently reported that more than half of all their customer trades were being ordered online.

People love to travel and the Japanese are no exception. Look for travel-related services to become one of the killer apps of the Japanese Web. Potential leaders here are JTB, HIS and, of course, the airlines.

Recent dealings in Japan
There are always lots of deals going on, but these seem to be paving the way for bigger and better online shopping to come. On, June 3, 1998, Softbank announced an online-securities joint trading venture in Japan with E*Trade Group of the United States. The venture is expected to be capitalized at $19.4 million with Softbank holding a 58% slice and E*Trade holding the rest. E*Trade and other online brokers are targeting the nearly $10 trillion in Japanese savings accounts that return less than 1% per year in interest in Japanese banks.

Online auctions planned for Japan
In early July, online-auction retailer Onsale and Softbank launched Onsale K.K. to introduce online auctions for the Japanese market. Softbank will own 60% of the joint venture and Onsale will own 40%. Softbank is providing the initial capital, while Onsale is supplying the technology, technical support, and management expertise. Service should start sometime next year.

Forest Linton is IE Group Product Manager for Microsoft Japan. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Microsoft, his psychic friends or his agent. You can reach out and touch him at forest@gol.com.
Online Shopping Sites

Book/Record Store:

bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp
www.towerrecords.co.jp

Event tickets:

www.saison.co.jp/ticket/
www.pia.co.jp

Computer:

www.cyber-bp.or.jp/sofmap/
www.laox.co.jp
www.arcs.ne.jp/
www.t-zone.co.jp/sales/

Travel:

www.jas.co.jp
www.jal.co.jp
www.jtb.co.jp
www.sta.co.jp

Department Stores:

www.isetan.co.jp/SHOPPING/
www.matsuzakaya-dept.co.jp/
www.mitsukoshi.co.jp/shopping/

IBM has a handy reference site with lots of Japan shopping links (easier to use than Yahoo):
www.fiesta.or.jp/KAIMONO/



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