Note: This article covers ecforce, an e-commerce platform available only in Japan. This will not be relevant if you are not evaluating platforms for the Japanese market.
"ecforce" is an e-commerce cart platform highly rated mainly for its extensive features and support. Its official website features numerous success stories, and there are likely e-commerce managers considering adopting it.
While ecforce has many benefits, it also has some downsides. When considering adopting it, it's important to review everything from basic information such as ecforce's features and pricing to user reviews and reputation before making a decision.
In this article, we thoroughly explain ecforce's features, pricing plans, and pros and cons. We also introduce user reviews and case studies, so please read all the way through.
What Is ecforce?
Image source: ecforce
ecforce is an e-commerce cart platform provided by SUPER STUDIO Co., Ltd. It releases 10 to 20 new features every month, giving you access to an extensive range of functionality. With SSL security measures in place, it provides a secure environment you can use with confidence.
To date, more than 1,500 companies*1 have adopted it, and 99.7%*2 continue to use it. Users have reported numerous results, such as a "170% increase in CVR" and an "average subscription retention rate of over 80%."
*1: Total number of contracts as of the end of October 2024
*2: Based on figures from March 2022 to August 2022
Key Features Available with ecforce
From here, we explain the key features available with ecforce.
Key Features for Building an E-Commerce Site
Features related to building an e-commerce site include the following.
- No-code site building
- Marketing and promotion features
- Personalized selling
- Gift sales
- Automation features, and more
There's a wealth of convenient features, including "no-code site building," which lets you quickly and easily create a distinctive site; "personalized selling," which suggests the optimal products to each individual customer; and "e-gift/social gift sales," which lets you give gifts without needing the recipient's address.
It also includes "automation features" that streamline operational tasks essential to running an e-commerce business, such as order and customer support. This lets you dedicate more resources to tasks outside of operations, such as product development and marketing.
Key Features for Data Utilization and Analysis
ecforce also offers a wealth of data analysis and utilization features essential for planning and improving strategy toward business growth.
- Order analysis
- Customer analysis
- LTV analysis
- Subscription order analysis
- No-code email editor
- Scenario templates
- Automatic login and ID integration
Data analysis features include a wide variety of analysis methods, such as "order analysis," which lets you analyze order volume, sales, and average order value; "subscription order analysis," which lets you analyze subscription rates by ad URL and first-purchase product; and "customer analysis," which lets you analyze customer segments by age, gender, cumulative purchase amount tier, and more.
There's also a wealth of features that improve operational efficiency, such as "scenario templates," which let you send step-based messages using successful CRM campaign templates, and the "no-code email editor," which lets you create HTML emails just by selecting and configuring text and images.
Key Features for Acquiring New Customers
Features useful for acquiring new customers include the following.
- Ad management features
- A/B testing features
- Exit-intent popups
- Abandoned cart emails
- Coupon and campaign features
- On-site offer features, and more
The "A/B testing feature" lets you identify which ads are performing better. This lets you narrow your ad spend to only the ads driving results, letting you acquire new customers more efficiently.
Using the "exit-intent popup," which triggers a popup based on the behavior of users browsing your site to prevent them from leaving, or "abandoned cart emails," which send emails to customers who abandoned their cart, you can also expect an increase in purchase rates.
Key Features for Encouraging Repeat Purchases
ecforce also comes with features useful for encouraging repeat purchases.
- Membership promotion features
- LINE integration
- Subscription and distribution club features
- Bundle sales, and more
With the "membership promotion feature," you can reflect membership tiers and member-exclusive benefits in your shop. By using the "subscription and distribution club feature," which lets you sell the same product on a subscription basis or ship different products for each delivery cycle, you can eliminate the hassle of customers having to repurchase manually. This can naturally boost your repeat purchase rate.
ecforce Pricing Plans
ecforce offers two pricing plans: the Standard plan and the Expert plan.
| Plan Name | Standard Plan | Expert Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Setup fee | ¥148,000 | ¥248,000 |
| Monthly fee | ¥49,800 | ¥99,800 |
| Monthly usage fee | ¥30/order | ¥30/order |
| Maximum orders | Up to 2,000/month | Unlimited |
| Data migration | × | ◯ |
| Server | Shared cloud | Dedicated cloud |
As of February 2025
For more details about pricing plans, please see "ecforce Pricing."
Benefits of Using ecforce
Since there are many e-commerce cart platforms available at lower prices than ecforce, some people are likely unsure whether to use it. So from here, we explain in detail the benefits of using ecforce.
Build the Ideal Site for Your Business with Extensive Features and External/API Integrations
ecforce comes standard with an extensive range of features, including diverse payment options, a comment feature, and personalized selling. It also enables integration with various external systems and APIs, letting you freely extend its functionality. Using ecforce, anyone can build their ideal e-commerce site.
Advanced Data Analysis Features Make It Easy to Optimize Marketing Initiatives
Being able to take advantage of extensive data analysis features is also one of ecforce's major benefits. With ecforce, you can use a wide range of analysis features, as follows.
- Order analysis
- LTV analysis
- Customer analysis
- Product analysis
- Subscription order analysis
- Campaign analysis and ad management features
- A/B testing features, and more
You can take advantage of advanced analysis features, such as the "A/B testing feature," which shows you which ads are performing better, and "subscription order analysis," which lets you analyze subscription rates and subscription turnover.
As a result, using ecforce makes it easier to roll out the optimal marketing initiatives to solve the challenges facing your e-commerce site.
Automation Features Let You Focus on the Work Needed for Business Growth
ecforce also has features that can automate tasks necessary for running an e-commerce site, such as sending order emails and handling inquiries. Using these automation features lets you focus more on things that matter for business growth, such as marketing and product development.
For this reason, ecforce can be said to be a recommended e-commerce cart platform even for companies with limited human resources.
A Dedicated Support Team Is Provided for Each Shop
Another benefit of ecforce is receiving attentive support. With ecforce, each shop is assigned a support team of about three staff members.
You can consult with the support team about everything from customizing your e-commerce site to marketing initiatives necessary for running the site, such as acquiring new customers and repeat buyers. Because of this, even beginners can run their e-commerce site with confidence.
You Can Implement a Variety of Sales Methods
With ecforce, you can introduce a variety of sales methods, as follows.
- Subscription sales
- Gift sales
- Cross-border e-commerce, and more
Even when you want to reach overseas markets or support gift-giving, you can achieve this without using any other services.
Downsides of ecforce
ecforce is an e-commerce cart platform whose extensive features and attentive support structure are appealing. However, there are also some downsides. From here, we explain ecforce's downsides in detail.
Usage Fees Are on the Higher Side
While ecforce excels in terms of features and support, the costs of using it—such as the setup fee and monthly fee—are set higher compared to other e-commerce cart platforms.
Even the lowest-tier Standard plan has a setup fee of ¥148,000 and a monthly fee of ¥49,800. Because of this, it can be said to be a service that's difficult to use for brands that have just launched and have low sales, or for those still at the stage of planning to launch a shop.
Some Cases Require Integration with a Payment Processing System
ecforce supports a variety of payment methods, as follows.
- Bank transfer
- Deferred payment
- LINE Pay
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- ecforce Payments (credit card payments), and more
However, depending on the payment method you use, integration with a payment processing system may be required. Note that simply signing up for ecforce doesn't automatically give you access to a wide range of payment methods.
Highly Distinctive Site Customization Requires Specialized Knowledge
ecforce also lets you customize theme templates to create a site that better matches your brand image. However, customizing templates requires specialized knowledge such as code editing.
If you want to pay close attention to design but don't have staff with specialized knowledge in-house, keep in mind that you'll need to outsource the work.
Real User Reviews of ecforce
Here we introduce real user reviews of ecforce.
Positive Reviews
- The features are extensive enough that integration with external systems isn't needed
- The admin UI is intuitive and easy to understand
- The support is attentive
- It's great that you can create and manage both your brand's official site and landing pages
Negative Reviews
- There's little information available about code customization
- Because it's expensive, it's difficult to use before your business has scaled
Many voices praise ecforce for its extensive features, support, and easy-to-understand admin UI. However, some people feel that with little information available about code customization, building their ideal site is difficult, while others feel that the high cost is a drawback.
After understanding these reviews as well, consider whether to adopt it for your business.
ecforce Case Studies
From here, we introduce case studies of shops that have actually adopted ecforce.
Herz skin
Image credit: Herz skin
"Herz skin" is a skincare brand operated by LIENA Co., Ltd. Herz skin sells items such as beauty essence lotion. It initially ran its shop on a different e-commerce cart system, but migrated to ecforce, which offers greater design freedom, because it was difficult to express the brand's world using the previous system.
By exhibiting at an event held at "THE [] STORE," an OMO solution jointly developed by ecforce and Mitsui Fudosan, Herz skin achieved strong results, including a 180% increase in one-time purchasers and a 130% increase in subscription purchasers on its e-commerce site.
Cycle.me
Image credit: Cycle.me
"Cycle.me" is a well-being brand offering health foods based on the concept of "delicious nutrition, chosen by time of day." While looking for a cart system that offered attentive support, a business partner told them that ecforce's support was attentive, leading them to adopt it. In fact, during a major renewal of their e-commerce site, they received careful support ranging from ecforce configuration to checking the user flow involved in the UI/UX overhaul, successfully completing the renewal.
Tamachan Shop
Image credit: Tamachan Shop
Tamachan Shop is an online shop handling a wide range of products, including food and cosmetics. Before adopting ecforce, about 60% of users who arrived via landing pages abandoned their cart, due to a lack of consistency between the landing pages and the brand's overall world. So they adopted ecforce, which offers high customization freedom, to achieve an e-commerce site with their ideal UI/UX. By also improving the landing pages' purchase flow and usability using the landing page creation feature, they achieved a 20% increase in conversion rate.
Which Is Recommended: ecforce or Shopify?
ecforce's extensive features and support are appealing, but some people may be torn between it and Shopify, a well-known e-commerce cart platform. Here's who we recommend each of ecforce and Shopify for.
| ecforce | Shopify |
|---|---|
| • People running a large-scale e-commerce site • People who want attentive support |
• People who want to start a full-fledged shop at as low a cost as possible • People who want to pursue cross-border e-commerce |
ecforce and Shopify differ in various respects, including pricing, features, and support. For this reason, it's important to choose based on your business's scale and challenges.
We explain the differences between ecforce and Shopify in detail in a separate article.
ecforce Is a Feature-Rich E-Commerce Cart Platform with Attentive Support!
ecforce is highly rated by many users for coming standard with an extensive range of features and for its attentive support. 99.7% of companies that adopt it continue to use it, which also suggests a high level of customer satisfaction.
However, note that its pricing is set higher compared to other e-commerce cart platforms, and integration with a payment processing system may be required.
Based on ecforce's pros and cons, please consider whether to adopt it for your e-commerce site.
