Want to expand your e-commerce business and reach new customers? Find out how to sell on Rakuten to maximize your success by exploiting the unique opportunities of this marketplace, and our tips for fostering your growth on the platform. We give you THE guide to selling on Rakuten.
Today, in e-commerce, marketplaces are essential platforms. In fact, 67% of sales worldwide are made on marketplaces. In fact, they offer companies a real opportunity for visibility and sales growth.
Among the best-known are Amazon, Ebay, CDiscount, etc. Rakuten, the Japanese marketplace, is also one of the leading platforms. With millions of visitors every month, and also known as the “Amazon of Japan”, Rakuten represents a major opportunity for e-tailers.
To help you seize all the opportunities offered by the platform, we’ve put together THE guide to selling on Rakuten. From an introduction to the marketplace to tips for optimizing your sales, you’ll discover all the keys to success on Rakuten.
Rakuten: what is it?
Rakuten, formerly known as PriceMinister, is a well-established online shopping platform. Following its acquisition by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten in 2010, the platform was renamed Rakuten France, offering a wider range of products and services.
A crucial point of differentiation for Rakuten lies in the security and reliability it offers. Every transaction on Rakuten is secure, and customer satisfaction is guaranteed, making this platform a preferred choice for many buyers. But also, unlike Amazon, for example, Rakuten is solely a marketplace and does not sell products under its own name, which means that competition is solely between merchants selling on the platform.
In terms of figures, Rakuten France is :
- over 22 million members
- 10 million active users, mainly from France and French-speaking countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Canada.
- 1.3 billion members
- 4ᵉ among the world’s best online marketplaces in 2019
Sales fees on Rakuten
Subscription offersand associatedcommissions: Rakuten offers you four distinct sales plans tailored to your needs and abilities: Classic, Advanced, Premium and Absolute. Subscription fees range from €39 to €499, depending on the plan, and commissions from 5% to 11%. These subscriptions allow you to adapt to the marketplace and your sales objectives on Rakuten.
Handling fees: These fees vary according to the value of the item sold. They vary from 0.15€HT for items costing less than 10€, to 5€HT for items costing more than 400€. These fees are an important part of your budget when considering selling on Rakuten.
Rakuten’s reputation
From the customer’s point of view, Rakuten is appreciated for the diversity of its products and the security of its transactions. Customers also praise Rakuten’s loyalty program, which offers points for every purchase made.
As for sellers, they appreciate Rakuten’s advanced selling tools, store customization and the platform’s vast audience. What’s more, the platform offers excellent seller support, making the Rakuten selling experience a breeze.
Rakuten’s services
To maximize your experience and sell well on Rakuten, it’s important to know about and take advantage of the services offered by the platform. Here’s an overview of some of the services offered by Rakuten.
Rakuten Point
Take advantage of the platform’s loyalty program, “Club R”, which boasts a community of over 8 million members. You can grant discounts in points to set yourself apart from the competition and attract the attention of buyers. Your offers will be highlighted on the popular “Rakuten Deals” page. You can set a specific budget that you don’t want to exceed, as you’ll only be charged for individual orders.
Rakuten Ads
Optimize your visibility by using Rakuten’s cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. With this model, you only pay when users click on your ad, allowing you to control your advertising spend while attracting qualified traffic to your products. Your ads will be positioned in strategic areas of the website to maximize their impact.
Rakuten InStore
Offer your customers the option of picking up their order in person, with free delivery. In addition to facilitating logistics and reducing shipping costs, this option also improves your products’ ranking in localized searches in a specific area. Consumers will appreciate the flexibility offered by this service.
Rakuten Coupons
To boost sales and build customer loyalty, you can offer discount coupons on your products. Consumers are always on the lookout for bargains, and this strategy can help you grab their attention and boost your sales.
Rakuten Fulfillment Network
Rakuten offers you a complete fulfillment solution for managing your inventory and fulfilling your orders. By storing your products in Rakuten’s warehouses, you benefit from a simplified inventory management process, from the meticulous preparation of orders to their dispatch to end customers. With this fulfillment service, you can concentrate on your core business by letting Rakuten take care of your storage and shipping logistics.
Each of these services can be a valuable asset in optimizing your sales on Rakuten. Use them wisely to maximize your success on this popular e-commerce platform.
By using these services offered by Rakuten, you can optimize your presence on the platform and maximize your chances of success. Choose the options that best suit your business and sales objectives, and take advantage of these tools to boost your visibility, attract new customers and retain your existing base.
Maximize your success on Rakuten
To make the most of your experience and sell well on Rakuten while maximizing your success, here are some essential tips and tricks.
Rakuten, an essential platform in the world of e-commerce, represents an exceptional opportunity to expand your customer base and boost your online business. But to really stand out in this competitive jungle, it’s imperative to optimize every aspect of your business, especially logistics. To explore more opportunities in other French markets, consider consulting our e-commerce marketplace platform.
By selling on a marketplace, you position yourself not only as a merchant, but also as a standard-bearer for that platform. Every interaction with customers is a showcase, not only for your brand, but also for the values and reliability of the marketplace itself. Unforeseen events, such as late deliveries, order errors or inadequate after-sales service, can quickly damage the platform’s image. And the latter, mindful of its reputation, will not hesitate to penalize sellers who fail to live up to expectations. In this competitive environment, equipping your company with the right logistics tools is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
This is where Shippingbo comes in, your key partner for logistics management on Rakuten. By offering an OMS to centralize your orders, a WMS for fine-tuned warehouse management and a TMS to ensure seamless shipping, Shippingbo ensures that every step of the process is simplified and efficient. For those wishing to diversify their sales channels, discovering how to sell on AbeBooks or sell on the Rue du Commerce marketplace could also be beneficial.
From centralizing your orders, avoiding stock-outs thanks to real-time updates, to optimizing warehouse management, everything is designed to streamline your operations. And with over 40 carriers connected to Shippingbo, your customers will always benefit from a first-class delivery experience.
But that’s not all. In addition to offering seamless logistics, Shippingbo is also a powerful tool for improving your KPIs on Rakuten, boosting your Merchant Quality Score, an essential element for increasing your sales on this platform.
A showcase for your image
Take advantage of the opportunity to customize your Rakuten store to reflect your brand image and attract the attention of buyers. Create an attractive storefront using high-quality images, detailed and engaging descriptions, and special promotions to captivate visitors and entice them to buy. Highlight your flagship products and create a consistent visual atmosphere to build buyer confidence and sell well on Rakuten.
Comprehensive, personalized product pages
When creating your product listings, be sure to provide complete and accurate information. Highlight the unique features of your products, provide high-quality images from different angles and include detailed descriptions that answer potential buyer questions. Don’t forget to mention the specific advantages of your products over the competition to pique buyers’ interest.
Using R-mail
R-mail is an e-mail marketing tool from Rakuten. Contact former customers to offer them new products, remind them of current promotions and maintain an active relationship with your customer base. To make the most of R-mail, personalize your messages according to customers’ interests and preferences, offer exclusive special offers and use incentives to encourage repeat purchases. Don’t forget to comply with data protection regulations and allow recipients to unsubscribe easily.
Compete on Merchant Quality Score on Rakuten
The Merchant Quality Score (MQS) is anevaluation toolused by Rakuten to rate the quality and performance of sellers. To improve your MQS score, make sure you provide excellent customer service by responding promptly to buyers’ queries and concerns. Ship orders on time and keep buyers informed of their delivery status. Also, solicit feedback from satisfied customers to boost your reputation on the platform.
Logistics and shipping with Shippingbo
To support your sales on Rakuten, it’s essential to take advantage oflogistics tools, whether to enable you to sell on Rakuten in an omnichannel way without additional constraints, or to boost your customer satisfaction and therefore maximize your Merchant Quality Score.
That’s why Shippingbo offers you its trio of SaaS software solutions: OMS (Order Management System), WMS (Warehouse Management System) and TMS (Transport Management System).
With WHO, you can :
- centralize all your orders in a single interface, whether they come from Rakuten, another marketplace, your CMS, etc.
- benefit from real-time stock feedback on all your sales channels, avoiding stock-out problems and guaranteeing continuous availability of your products for consumers.
- streamline your information exchanges, with your warehouses thanks to intelligent routing, and with your customers thanks to automatic order status notifications
- find out how to choose an order management system
Visit WMS will enable you to :
- optimize your warehouse management with real-time monitoring of stock status, origin, location and destination.
- organize, automate and industrialize your preparation sessions to boost productivity
- simplify your logistics operations and minimize preparation errors, for faster shipping and greater customer satisfaction
When it comes to shipping, the TMS will enable you to :
- automatically allocate the carriers best suited to your needs thanks to “transport mapping”, and benefit from over 40 carriers and freight forwarders connected to Shippingbo
- easily print shipping labels from a single interface for any of your carriers
- track the progress of your deliveries, thanks to regular calls to your carriers’ platforms
With Shippingbo, you benefit from optimized logistics, to enable you to sell on Rakuten and also on other channels easily, to increase your sales to access omnichannel and promote the growth of your business.
But Shippingbo is also your ally in improving your KPIs on marketplaces and differentiating yourself from the competition. In this way, you can boost your Merchant Quality Score (MQS), which is crucial to your sales on Rakuten, and stand out on a highly competitive platform.
By integrating the Shippingbo solution into your Rakuten business, you can simplify your logistics operations, optimize your shipping and offer your customers an exceptional delivery experience.
Sell on Rakuten with Shippingbo
In short, Rakuten is a leading marketplace offering many opportunities for your e-commerce business. With its large audience and unique features, Rakuten can help you reach new customers and grow your online business.
To maximize your success and sell well on Rakuten, it’s essential to stack the odds in your favor. Follow these tips and use Shippingbo tools to optimize your logistics, efficiently manage your orders and shipments, and deliver an exceptional customer experience. With our complete logistics solution, you’ll be able to access omnichannel and simplify your operations on Rakuten. To explore more options and markets, find out more about our e-commerce marketplace platform.
Now you have all our tips for getting started on Rakuten! Ready to take the plunge and maximize your sales? Find out now how Shippingbo makes it easy for you to deploy on this marketplace, and also consider selling on AbeBooks to reach a targeted audience interested in books, or selling on the Rue du Commerce marketplace for extended access to a diverse European audience.
