For a long time, the destinations of cross-border e-commerce businesses in China are undoubtedly dominated by European and American markets. Comparatively speaking, as the third largest economy in the world, Japan has all the characteristics of a mature e-commerce market, but it has not been fully tapped by overseas businesses in China due to its particularity.
But in recent years, the value of the Japanese market is constantly being released. On the one hand, in terms of scale, Japan is the fourth largest e-commerce market in the world, but the penetration rate of e-commerce is not high, which means there is still huge room for development; On the other hand, the outbreak of the epidemic has accelerated the development of e-commerce in Japan. According to the report of E-commerce Market Survey released by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in July, 20021,in 2020, the scale of B2C e-commerce for Japanese goods sales will increase by 2 1.7 1% year-on-year, reaching 12.233 trillion yen, becoming e-commerce.
According to the Statistical Report of 20021Global E-commerce released by STATISTA in June, 200212000, it is estimated that the total revenue of B2C e-commerce in Japan will be 1 120 billion US dollars in 2025, and it is expected to reach 143 billion US dollars in 2025.
"At present, the penetration rate of e-commerce in Japan is expected to reach 12%. During the three years of the epidemic, the ideology and consumption habits of Japanese consumers have changed significantly. " Zhou Yang, head of Lotte Group's China business and general manager of Lotte Shenzhen, talks with Billion Power.
He further explained that, first of all, online purchase and offline purchase have become complementary patterns. For example, offline purchase of fresh food has become an irreversible trend for goods that are not in a hurry and need careful comparison. Secondly, due to the popularity of home office and the decrease of going out, people's demand for online shopping has gradually increased. There are still many people who want to keep the living habits of big cities even if they work in remote places. At this time, online shopping ensures that they can meet all kinds of needs.
In other words, the increase of e-commerce penetration, the expansion of e-commerce scale and the change of consumer demand have all brought new vitality to the Japanese market. On the basis of improving the adaptability of China's supply chain to the Japanese market, the Japanese head e-commerce platform represented by Lotte is gradually opening up, which undoubtedly provides new opportunities for Chinese businessmen to go to sea.
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Japan —— The Potential Market of Cross-border E-commerce in the Post-epidemic Era
Traditionally, Japan is a relatively small destination market in cross-border electronic commerce. But in Zhou Yang's view, judging the size of a market depends not on the land area, but on the population base. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics of Japan, by 2022, the total population of Japan will be 65.438+0.25 billion, ranking 654.38+0 in the world and 6th in Asian countries.
"Japan's population even exceeds the sum of several European countries, and the population base determines the size of market demand. In addition, Japan's e-commerce rate is not high, on the other hand, it is also an opportunity. On such a large population base, when the e-commerce rate increases from 12% to 20% and 30%, the scale will be considerable. " He said.
More importantly, Japan has a very high-quality e-commerce soil: according to the report data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in July 20021,the Internet penetration rate in Japan is close to 90%, the per capita GDP is US$ 44,585, and the purchasing power is very strong. At the same time, the e-commerce infrastructure in Japan is relatively perfect. Take logistics, the most important link in the e-commerce industry chain, as an example. Japan is one of the most developed countries in logistics in the world. Except Hokkaido, Okinawa and other islands, other areas can basically achieve the speed of next-day delivery.
However, the Japanese have not been widely exploited by cross-border businessmen in China. According to the e-commerce market survey released by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in July 20021,the cross-border e-commerce trade volume between China, the United States and Japan was 307.6 billion yen, and that of China was 34 billion yen. The price difference of nearly 10 times means that for a big manufacturing country like China, there is still much room for improvement in developing cross-border e-commerce with Japan.
Zhou Yang pointed out that from the hot categories of Japanese e-commerce market, according to the e-commerce market survey of 202 1 released by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in July, household appliances, daily groceries, furniture and other categories showed a rapid upward trend in recent two or three years, with an average year-on-year increase of more than 2 1%, which is also the dominant category of China's supply chain. I believe that China sellers have a chance to cut in. In addition, in the current market, the best seller in China is 3C products of household appliances, followed by shoes, clothing and beauty products.
"In recent years, the iteration and innovation of China products have been done very well, which has gradually weakened the image of' shanzhai' and' low quality' in the past. Japanese consumers are also changing, especially young consumers. They not only look at traditional big names, but also like new products and brands. After using it, I feel quite good and meet his needs. No matter whether you are famous or not, no matter where you come from, they can be accepted. " Zhou Yang said. This is a good opportunity for China businessmen to enter the Japanese market.
Another favorable factor is that Japan is a "feedback" market. According to Zhou Yang, Japanese consumers like to write product reviews and are used to making sincere and meticulous comments on all aspects, so that businesses can see real market feedback in time and build trust through interaction with consumers.
So, how do businesses enter the Japanese e-commerce market? It is no exaggeration to say that Lotte is an unavoidable channel. According to the financial report of Lotte Group, the transaction volume of Lotte e-commerce in 20 19 was about 3.9 trillion yen, and it exceeded 5 trillion yen in 20021year, with a two-year growth rate of nearly 30%, leading the Japanese e-commerce market.
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Lotte's "restraint" and "attack"
As the largest e-commerce platform in Japan, Lotte's development history is six years earlier than Taobao. This is why people in the e-commerce industry often say that "Taobao Tmall has the shadow of Lotte in many places".
Lotte, founded in 1997, builds a competitive barrier by virtue of its ever-evolving business: in 2006, Lotte put forward the concept of "Lotte Economic Circle", forming a perfect self-owned business ecosystem within the group; In 2007, we provided Lotte's shopping service with peace of mind. In 2008, the next-day service was launched and the "shopping marathon" was started; 20 12 launched "Lotte Super Sale"; 20 16 has a super integral zoom project.
You may be curious, as a mature enterprise with a history of 25 years, why is Lotte still called the "blue ocean" platform in the industry? This is inseparable from Lotte's consistent "restraint".
Lotte is a typical third-party B2C platform model, focusing on the concept of "boutique mall". This positioning determines that it attaches great importance to the quality of merchants, which leads to strict investment strategy and strict control of the number of merchants. For example, Lotte will carefully screen merchants from three dimensions: enterprise operation ability, product quality and company subject qualification. At the same time, there are very clear requirements for sellers in terms of compliance and customer service capabilities.
"But it is precisely because of the high investment threshold that the existence of high-quality businesses is guaranteed, vicious competition is reduced and the profits of businesses are guaranteed." Zhou Yang added.
As a merchant said, among several head e-commerce platforms in Japan, Lotte is the most difficult to open and operate, and correspondingly, the whole ecological environment is also the best. "Merchants who can get Lotte's admission tickets all have certain strength. Conversely, Lotte is also the best channel for businesses to enter the Japanese market. "
Although there are all kinds of "restraint" on the investment side, Lotte is "aggressive" in other aspects.
It is understood that Lotte started as an online shopping platform "Lotte Market", and then gradually expanded to Internet services such as electronic money, credit cards, banking, insurance, securities, communications, tourism, portals and internet finance. At present, Lotte Group has provided more than 70 kinds of services in Japan, which have penetrated into many industries, and many services occupy an important position in this format.
"After years of development, Lotte has long been more than just a Japanese company. We have a high reputation in the United States, Europe and Taiwan Province Province of China, and continue to expand our brand voice through external promotion, covering more than 654.38+06 billion users in 30 countries and regions around the world. " Zhou Yang said.
It is worth mentioning that Lotte began to practice the idea of "Lotte Economic Circle" as early as 2006. Every merchant uses a unified ID, and * * * uses the underlying database. The "Lotte Points" obtained by users through shopping or using other services of Lotte can be used in various businesses of Lotte, and it is constantly circulating, forming a virtuous circle. Lotte, on the other hand, integrates the various businesses of the group by analyzing the membership data, so that each business can promote each other.
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Not only selling goods, how can China Merchants use Lotte to complete the brand going out to sea?
"Comparing Amazon and Lotte, you will find that Amazon is like a hypermarket, with almost no traces of merchants' shops, which is suitable for single items; Lotte is a ShoppingMall, which is mainly shops and suitable for brand series promotion. " Some merchants commented like this.
Undoubtedly, Lotte's business model provides a more suitable survival foundation for the brand, and Lotte's deep cultivation in Japan for more than 20 years has also cultivated high-quality soil for platform merchants to build brands.
It is understood that the Lotte points system organically connects all ecological businesses in series, and consumers can enjoy 14 times the points discount, and even enjoy 42 times when promoting. This makes Lotte users sticky and has a high return visit rate and repurchase rate. In addition, Lotte has always maintained a strict screening system for sellers. On the basis of controlling the quantity, it also provides a benign competitive environment for sellers, which can breed products with higher customer unit price.
In other words, Lotte's high-quality user base is beneficial for merchants to better reach the target user group and gain premium space, while Lotte's high demand for business management provides consumers with a good shopping experience, thus ensuring the overall favorable rate of platform stores.
Another unique advantage is the online and offline multi-dimensional consumer reach brought by Lotte Group's diversified business.
Zhou Yang believes that there is room for imagination in brand exposure between Lotte's other businesses and Lotte's market. For example, Lotte cooperates with well-known offline supermarkets such as Xiyou and BicCamera, which is a very good resource for merchants in Lotte market to expand offline channels. For another example, Lotte is currently committed to the hotel service business of Lotte, and the best-selling products in Lotte market also have the opportunity to be displayed in hotels through this channel.
"Many brands started from Lotte market and gradually developed into national brands." Zhou Yang told Billion Power, "Lotte is willing to be the first stop for Japanese businessmen to come to China. It is a particularly reasonable and labor-saving way for merchants to open their popularity here, then shop offline and finally form an omni-channel layout. "
It is reported that Lotte officially launched investment promotion in China from 20 19. The overall business environment with strong branding has attracted many well-known domestic brands such as Insta360, Jimmy Technology, OPPO, BenQ, Tianke and Zheng Hao EcoFlow, which not only brought them sales growth, but also provided ways to increase brand voice. At present, its investment targets are mainly vertical categories and brand sellers who have certain experience and achievements in Japanese e-commerce and refined operations.
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