E-commerce slows in Japan | WARC | The Feed

E-commerce slows in Japan

E-commerce in Japan saw a surge between 2019 and 2021 but growth has since tailed off, partly as the necessity to shop online has receded, partly because the sector is experiencing delivery problems.

Context 

Even before the pandemic, Japanese consumers shopped online much less than those in other nations, and, even with that lockdown surge, they still lag; for example, they shop online for daily essentials about 40% less than the average according to research by Statista.

Why it matters

Now, as consumers tire of shopping on smartphones and sales through brick and mortar stores pick up post-pandemic, there is an opportunity to reignite growth by expanding the role of physical stores in e-commerce. The Financial Times reports examples of clothes retailers seeing increased sales from adding new outlets just to allow consumers to see and try on items they’ve seen online.

Takeaways 

• Depending on the source, from 2019 to 2021 e-commerce grew between 20% (Nowcast & JCB) and 30% (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications).
• From January 2020 to April 2022, purchase prices rose in 70% of categories on online platforms Amazon, Rakuten and Yahoo, according to research company Nint. 
• A shortage of delivery workers has prompted some groups to trial the use of self-driving robots to deliver fresh food and boxed meals.

Sourced from Financial Times