| An insight into Japan’s economy for cross-border ecommerce brands, profiling payment methods, ecommerce growth, social media, advertising and demographics. Economy Japan is in the top 30 richest countries according to the World Bank. Total GDP is valued at US$5 trillion. Japan has a GDP per capita of US$40,246, spread across a population of 126.2 million people. Many Japanese reside in cities and the country is 92% urbanized, making it the 16th most urbanized country in the world. Check out more exciting markets in Asia – Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam.  Digital User Insights There are currently 100 million ecommerce users in Japan, with 13 million additional users expected by 2025. 74.1% of the Japanese population shop online, with this expected to reach 89% by 2025.  Product Categories Total ecommerce revenue across all product categories is US$112 billion, expected to reach US$143 billion by 2025. Three separate categories boast high revenue generation in the Japanese market, showing the willingness of customers in this country to shop for multiple items online. Food and Personal Care lead the way generating US$28.9 billion, second place is Fashion generating US$25 billion, with Electronics and Media at US$19.9 billion.  Logistics Japan is ranked 5th in the world by the World Bank for logistics. Japan is an economic force in the Asia-Pacific region, with the heart of logistics operating in a triangle connecting the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Japan consists of over 5,000 islands, but the bulk of people reside in the major cities of the four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyshu and Shikoku. Preferred Online Payment Methods Credit/Debit Card accounts for 35% of online payments in Japan. Popular credit cards are Mastercard, Visa, and JCB. Cash on delivery accounts for 11% of online payments, and includes allowing customers to pay and collect at local convenience stores. Ewallets are becoming more popular, currently at 16% but anticipated to reach 45% by 2025.  Where does Japan buy from? Japan imports from China (US$152 billion), United States (US$70.1 billion), Australia (US$41.5 billion), South Korea (US$28.3 billion), and Saudi Arabia (US$24.5 billion).  Internet and Device Usage Internet penetration in Japan is 86%, and should reach 90.7% by 2020. Smartphone penetration is 82% and is projected to grow to 92% by 2025. Social media penetration is at 81%.  Marketing Marketing spend in Japan has grown in recent years, with television accounting for almost US$17 billion of total marketing spend. Digital has seen a steep increase in market spend, bypassing US$15 billion in 2020.  Social Media Japan’s social media usage continues to shift, with users spread across a number of different platforms. Penetration is currently at 83%. LINE is by far the most popular social platform and is a Japanese instant messaging app. Twitter and Facebook are also popular, with local social network Mixi vying for market share.  For more market insights, check out the ESW series of blogs covering a range of emerging ecommerce markets. *Insights derived from ESW data, Statista, WorldBank, OECD and other industry sources. |
