Note: This article covers makeshop, an e-commerce platform available only in Japan. This will not be relevant if you are not evaluating platforms for the Japanese market.
Many people become interested in makeshop for reasons like "I want to use a highly functional e-commerce cart" or "I want an e-commerce cart with strong support." makeshop's appeal lies in its more than 600 standard features, along with robust support such as customer support and dedicated e-commerce advisors.
This article explains everything from an overview of makeshop to the pros and cons of using it in detail. We also introduce its main features, usage fees, and real-world case studies, so if you want to learn more about makeshop, please read through to the end.
What Is makeshop?
Image source: makeshop
makeshop is an e-commerce site building service provided by GMO Make Shop Co., Ltd. It supports e-commerce businesses across a wide range of industries and product types, and has ranked No. 1 in user shop sales for 13 consecutive years.
There are 651 available features. With just a fixed fee, you can customize features to match your shop's situation. The strength of its support — including customer support, e-commerce advisors, and consulting — is also highly regarded.
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
Benefits of makeshop
Here, we explain the benefits of using makeshop.
You Can Use as Many as 651 Features
makeshop comes with as many as 651 features as standard.
It comes standard with features essential for running an e-commerce site, from shop design editing to SEO features that are fundamental to customer acquisition, and promotional features that help drive repeat customers and grow sales.
Features that are paid add-ons or require integration with external services on other e-commerce carts are available here at no extra cost.
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
You Can Build Your Ideal Site with Design Templates and Design Editing
Image source: makeshop
makeshop offers a large number of stylish, user-friendly design templates. All templates are available for free. This means you can easily design your shop by choosing a template that matches your products and brand image.
If you want to customize your site further to match your brand image, you can also edit the design directly within the admin panel. You can freely change the design by directly editing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
It's a great fit both for those without specialized knowledge who still want a stylish site, and for those who want to customize down to the smallest detail to build their ideal site.
Its Proprietary Customer Acquisition Features Deliver Cost-Effective Results
Another appeal of makeshop is its proprietary customer-acquisition features that deliver cost-effective results.
For example, a feature called Item Post lets you list your products on major marketplaces such as Yahoo! Shopping and Kakaku.com. Because this lets you reach marketplace customers, you can acquire more new customers.
A feature called MakeRepeater analyzes your shop's customers and sales and automatically suggests specific measures for cultivating repeat customers. It lets you send emails tailored to purchase behavior and check metrics like open rate, click rate, and purchase rate in a single view after sending, enabling effective email marketing.
Beyond this, makeshop offers various other customer-acquisition features, such as automated ad management and CRM. All features other than CRM can be used for free, enabling highly effective customer acquisition at low cost.
You Get Robust Support, from Customer Support and Consulting to Operations Outsourcing
Image source: makeshop
makeshop offers a wide range of support, from explaining how to use the platform, to consultations for solving shop challenges like growing sales, to outsourcing the tasks needed to run an e-commerce site.
Customer support includes phone support, a chatbot, an FAQ, and the makeshop Magazine, letting you quickly resolve questions about how to use the platform or its features.
After you open your shop, a dedicated e-commerce advisor is assigned to provide necessary setup support and suggestions for growing sales, giving peace of mind even to those running e-commerce for the first time.
makeshop also offers consulting services where you can receive thorough advice from professional consultants aimed at growing your shop's sales, as well as operations outsourcing support that lets you delegate the tasks needed to run an e-commerce site, from shop setup through logistics.
These services let you quickly resolve questions and concerns about running your e-commerce site.
Drawbacks of makeshop
While makeshop offers many benefits, such as a large number of features and robust support, it also has a few drawbacks.
Here, we explain the drawbacks of using makeshop.
Fixed Costs Are on the Higher Side
makeshop offers two plans: the Premium Plan and the Enterprise Plan.
The Premium Plan has a setup fee of ¥11,000 and a monthly fee of ¥13,750. The Enterprise Plan has a setup fee of ¥11,000 and a monthly fee of ¥55,000.
Many other e-commerce carts offer plans with zero setup fee and zero monthly fee, or plans available for a few thousand yen per month. This means one drawback of makeshop is that its fixed costs run somewhat higher.
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
Design Customization Requires Specialized Knowledge Such as HTML
makeshop offers many stylish design templates, letting you build your shop easily.
On the other hand, if you want a site that matches your brand image or makes your products stand out, you may need to customize HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. Without specialized knowledge, achieving your ideal site design on makeshop can be difficult.
Since some other e-commerce carts let you customize design through intuitive operations, the relatively high difficulty of design customization can be considered a drawback of makeshop.
Main Features of makeshop
Here we introduce the main standard features available on makeshop's Premium Plan.
| Feature Category | Main Features |
|---|---|
| Design Features | Custom design editing Design templates HTML assist tool HTML editor Design set import/export Top-page layout changes Multi-form feature Free pages Calendar feature Popularity ranking feature Inventory matrix display Product group settings |
| Product Management Features | AI assist Multiple product image registration Product data download/upload Product display period settings 0% tax rate setting Product variations Bulk price/points editing |
| Member Management Features | Age verification Centralized management tool support Member management Member notes Automatic member group assignment Member data download/upload Newsletter member import Easy member registration at checkout Delivery-completion step email |
| Inventory Management Features | Centralized management tool support Inventory alert email Inventory matrix display Product variations |
| Shipping Features | Per-product shipping settings Shipping to multiple addresses Preferred delivery date/time settings Detailed shipping fee settings Overseas shipping support Carrier waybill integration Bulk tracking-number registration |
| Promotional Features | Overseas sales Coupon feature Bulk-purchase discount feature Upcoming-sale announcements Restock notification emails Personalization/engraving feature Product review feature Popularity ranking feature Product display period settings Discount period settings Member management Newsletter distribution Recently viewed product recommendations "Spend ¥X more for free shipping" display Gift wrapping/noshi/gift support Order-completion screen banner display Abandoned-cart emails |
| Customer Acquisition Features | SEO settings Restock notification emails Affiliate integration Retargeting ads Item Post LINE Brand Catalog integration Yahoo! Shopping integration Instagram Shopping integration YouTube Shopping integration Google Shopping Ads integration |
| Analytics Features | Google Search Console registration Google Tag Manager support Google Analytics 4 support Sales analytics |
Beyond the above, makeshop also offers convenient features such as payment and CRM functionality. There are also optional features available for an additional fee, as well as features that can be customized to your requirements.
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
Integration Features Available with makeshop
makeshop offers the following integration features.
| Integration Feature Name | Overview |
|---|---|
| YouTube Shopping integration | A feature for selling products through YouTube videos |
| Google Shopping Ads integration | A feature that displays product images in search results when related keywords are searched |
| Instagram Shopping integration | A feature that lets you tag products in Instagram posts so customers can navigate from photos/videos to your shopping site and purchase |
| Yahoo! Shopping integration | A feature for listing products on Yahoo! Shopping |
| LINE Brand Catalog integration | A feature for listing shop information and product data on LINE Brand Catalog |
| Overseas sales | A feature that enables selling overseas |
| Item Post | A feature for easily listing products on major sites from the admin panel |
| Retargeting ads | A feature that shows retargeting ads to visitors with high purchase intent |
| Affiliate integration | A feature that supports 37 affiliate services, helping expand awareness among users without a direct connection to your shop |
| Epsilon shipping service | A feature that provides access to discounted shipping rate services |
| Google Analytics 4 support | A feature that lets you register your ID and set up GA4 within the admin panel |
| WordPress integration | A feature that lets you incorporate a site built with WordPress under your makeshop site's domain |
| API integration | A feature that enables integration with external services and app development |
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
By using these integration features, you can aim to acquire more customers and grow sales further.
Fees for Using makeshop
Here we explain in detail the fees involved in using makeshop.
Plan Fees
makeshop offers two pricing plans: the Premium Plan and the Enterprise Plan. The fees for each plan are as follows.
| Pricing Plan | Premium Plan | Enterprise Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Fee | ¥11,000 | ¥11,000 |
| Monthly Fee | ¥13,750 | ¥55,000 |
| Sales Commission | Free | Free |
| SSL | ¥13,200/year | Free |
| Number of Registered Products | 10,000 items | 50,000 items |
| Number of Sub-Administrators | 5 | 10 |
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
The setup fee is the same for both, but the Premium Plan keeps the monthly fee lower. However, the Premium Plan has stricter limits than the Enterprise Plan, such as a lower cap on the number of registered products and sub-administrators. It's important to choose a plan that matches your shop's growth stage.
Payment Processing Fees
makeshop supports credit card payments, Amazon Pay, and deferred payment services such as Paidy and atone. The fees for each payment method are as follows.
| Pricing Plan | Premium Plan | Enterprise Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Credit card payment | From 3.19% | From 3.14% |
| Amazon Pay | 3.90% | 3.90% |
| Paidy | 3.50% | 3.50% |
| atone (pay next month) | 3.50% | 3.50% |
*This information is based on details as of June 2025.
makeshop's payment processing fees range from 3.19% to 3.5%. Since other e-commerce carts sometimes charge 4.0% or more, makeshop's fees can be considered low. However, it doesn't support convenience-store payments or carrier billing.
If you want to offer payment methods other than those listed above, consider integrating with an external service.
Optional Feature Fees
Beyond its standard features, makeshop offers optional features to help bring your shop closer to your ideal, such as the "B2B Option" for building and running a B2B-focused site, and the "Pre-Order Feature" for accepting pre-orders on new products before they arrive in stock.
Here, we introduce the fees for the main optional features.
| Cost | Setup Fee | Monthly/Annual Fee |
|---|---|---|
| B2B Option | Premium Plan: ¥110,000–¥440,000 Enterprise Plan: Free |
¥0 |
| Subscription Feature | Payment Gateway: ¥330,000 Epsilon/Premium Plan: ¥110,000 |
¥66,000/year |
| WordPress Integration Option | ¥110,000 | ¥0 |
| Pre-Order Feature | ¥0 | ¥66,000 |
| e-Recommend | ¥66,000 | ¥132,000/year |
| Catering/Delivery Option | Premium Plan: ¥330,000 Enterprise Plan: ¥0 |
¥0 |
| Site Search Option | ¥66,000 | ¥132,000/year |
| Secret Shop Feature | Premium Plan: ¥330,000 Enterprise Plan: ¥0 |
¥0 |
| In-Store Pickup Feature | ¥385,000 *1 | ¥0 |
| B2B E-Commerce Mall Option | ¥3,300,000 *1 | ¥55,000/month |
| Web Order Management System | ¥3,300,000 *1 | ¥55,000/month |
| Agency Fee Management System | ¥3,300,000 *1 | ¥55,000/month |
| Omnichannel | Quote required *1 | Quote required |
| Kintone Integration Option | Quote required *1 | Quote required |
*1 Available only with the Enterprise Plan.
*2 This information is based on details as of June 2025.
Fees vary significantly by option. Some options cost more than ¥3 million, so be sure to check carefully whether they fit comfortably within your budget.
Case Studies of makeshop Adoption
Here we introduce examples of shops that have actually used makeshop.
Watanabe no Chahonpo
Image source: Mie Dai Seicha Co., Ltd. Watanabe no Chahonpo
"Watanabe no Chahonpo" switched from a marketplace-type site to makeshop. As a result, it has been able to achieve things that weren't possible on a marketplace, one after another — such as finely configuring different options for each product and setting shipping fees based on product size or quantity.
It also became able to integrate with the in-house software used for order and payment processing, which has helped reduce the workload of order and payment management.
Anagotei Online Shop
Image source: Anagotei Online Shop
"Anagotei Online Shop," which sells conger eel products, decided to build its site on makeshop because of its design flexibility and comprehensive support.
Thanks to makeshop's attentive customer support, which offers methods and alternative approaches whenever a question is asked, the shop has been able to smoothly achieve what it wants to do.
Maruhiro Online Store
Image source: Maruhiro Online Store
Maruhiro Online Store sells products from Maruhiro, a ceramics maker that designs tableware and interior goods made using "Hasami-yaki," a traditional craft from Nagasaki Prefecture.
By using makeshop's overseas sales feature, the shop has been able to confidently start selling overseas even with limited resources.
How to Get Started with makeshop
Getting started with makeshop is very simple. Follow the steps below to start running your e-commerce business on makeshop.
- Sign up for the 15-day free trial
- Set up your account
- Build your site and start operating
- Complete your formal contract
Because you can run your site during the 15-day free trial, you can thoroughly check the feel of operation and the features before signing a formal contract. Shops created during the free trial period remain usable after you sign the formal contract. Not having to rebuild your shop from scratch when moving to a formal contract is also a nice benefit.
makeshop's Appeal Lies in Its 600+ Rich Features and Strong Support!
makeshop is an e-commerce site building service that can accommodate a wide range of industries and product types. Its appeal is that, just by paying a fixed fee, you get access to more than 600 rich features!
It also offers robust support, including customer support to resolve questions about how to use the platform or its features, and dedicated e-commerce advisors who offer suggestions for growing your sales.
However, precisely because it offers so many features and such robust support, its fixed costs run higher than other e-commerce carts. Another sticking point is that customizing the design yourself requires specialized knowledge such as HTML, which can be difficult without it.
If you're interested in makeshop, start by trying the free trial to check out its features and feel of operation.
