Note: This article covers Rakuten Ichiba (楽天市場), an e-commerce marketplace available only in Japan. This will not be relevant if you are not evaluating platforms for the Japanese market.
If you run a shop on Rakuten Ichiba, you may feel the strength of its customer-drawing power, while also feeling that fees and advertising costs are a heavy burden. On top of that, many shop owners struggle with point-reward costs piling up and profits not growing as expected.
For those hoping that "migrating to Shopify might let me grow my business more freely," this article clearly explains the specific steps for migrating from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify, along with the differences in cost and benefits between the two platforms.
If you're struggling with operating costs or customer acquisition, you're sure to find useful information here.
What's the Difference Between Shopify and Rakuten Ichiba? A Thorough Comparison of Operating Costs
Running a shop on Rakuten Ichiba offers the major benefit of high customer-drawing power within Japan. If you start selling on this marketplace, which many consumers use, it's easy to generate sales from an early stage, and many shop owners feel the benefit in terms of customer acquisition.
However, there is a downside: operating costs rise as sales increase.
From here, let's take a detailed look at the cost differences between Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify.
Operating Costs of Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify
Image source: Rakuten Ichiba
Fee Comparison Between Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify
Rakuten Ichiba requires an initial registration fee of ¥60,000. In addition, the monthly usage fee costs at least ¥25,000 (tax included), and additional costs apply for optional features that make operations more convenient, such as Rakuten Pay usage fees and R-Messe. On top of that, a sales commission, system usage fee, and payment processing fee are added each time a product sells, so the fee burden increases as sales grow.
For this reason, fees and monthly costs tend to grow larger as sales increase.
Shopify has an initial registration fee of ¥0, and the monthly usage fee is as low as ¥3,650 (with annual payment). No additional fee is charged based on sales, but credit card payment fees do apply. Since Shopify's monthly fee is fixed, the fixed platform cost doesn't increase even as sales grow, which is a major benefit in that it makes costs easy to predict.
Image source: Shopify
Advertising Costs on Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify
On Rakuten Ichiba, using Rakuten Ads or banner ads to make products stand out is common. Especially in categories with heavy competition, it's difficult to attract customers without advertising, so additional ad spend is required. Furthermore, to appear near the top of search results for specific keywords, you need to increase your ad budget, which tends to raise overall operating costs.
Shopify, on the other hand, has no in-platform ad slots, so you can run SNS ads, Google Ads, SEO measures, and more at your own discretion. You can run ads tailored to your target customers and budget, and being able to take a flexible marketing strategy is a key difference from Rakuten Ichiba. Ad spend is also easy to adjust, making costs easier to control compared to Rakuten Ichiba.
Point Rewards on Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify
Rakuten Ichiba has adopted a system for rewarding customers with Rakuten Points, which plays a role in boosting customer acquisition. However, the shop bears part of the cost of these point rewards, so the burden grows as sales increase, which can affect profitability.
Shopify doesn't have a point-reward program by default, but you can introduce one via an app. The reward rate and eligible products can be freely configured and adjusted according to your own profit margins, so unlike Rakuten Ichiba, it's easier to keep costs down. You can also choose not to offer point rewards at all, which helps stabilize your profits.
Related article: 6 Recommended Shopify Point Apps: The Pros and Cons of Adding a Points Service
Benefits of Migrating to Shopify: Freedom of Operation and Strengthening Your Own Brand
Image source: Shopify
Rakuten Ichiba is highly recognized within Japan, and the marketplace's own customer-drawing power is a major strength. At the same time, the cost burden of running a shop there, including fees and advertising costs, is far from small.
If you want to reduce this burden while growing your business at your own pace, why not consider migrating to Shopify?
Here we explain three benefits you gain by migrating to Shopify.
1. Freedom of Operation and Design Customization
One of Shopify's major appeals is that you can freely customize your shop's appearance and layout
Shopify offers more than 190 design templates, letting you launch an original shop by choosing a design that matches your industry and brand image.
Templates are available by category, including fashion, food and beverage, and health and beauty, allowing you to express visuals that match your brand's personality and target audience. You can also freely combine logos, colors, and fonts, making it easy to differentiate yourself from other brands.
For shop owners who especially value cultivating their own distinctive world, Shopify's design freedom can be said to be a major benefit.
Related article: 15 Recommended Shopify Themes: Free vs. Paid Differences and How to Choose Without Regret
Also, unlike Rakuten Ichiba, there are no detailed rules for page design or product settings, so you can flexibly set up your sales methods and customer service to match your business model. It's easy to create product pages that reflect the owner's intent and a customer service style found nowhere else, letting you showcase your originality.
2. Building Relationships Using Customer Data
With Shopify, the shop can manage customer data directly, enabling marketing tailored to buyers' tendencies and preferences. Because you connect with customers directly, you can flexibly provide individualized responses, such as strategies to encourage repeat purchases, membership programs, and exclusive offers.
On Rakuten Ichiba, on the other hand, buyers are treated as "Rakuten members," making it difficult for shops to build a direct relationship with customers, but with Shopify you can manage them as your own customers, creating an environment where it's easier to cultivate repeat buyers.
An increase in repeat customers leads to long-term revenue and also helps build a stable customer base.
3. Flexible Customer Acquisition Methods and Marketing Strategy
One major benefit of using Shopify is that you can choose your own customer acquisition methods and marketing strategy freely. Rather than relying on the platform for customer acquisition as with Rakuten Ichiba, you can reach target customers using a variety of methods, such as SNS ads, Google Ads, SEO measures, and email marketing.
You can also use Shopify apps to run various customer acquisition initiatives, such as displaying customer reviews, affiliate programs, and cart reminders (notifications encouraging purchase).
Since you can flexibly adjust your ad spend and campaign timing to match your own situation, this also contributes to long-term branding and building a fan base.
Related article: 15 Marketing Tactics That Work Well with Shopify: Tips for Success
Downsides of Migrating to Shopify
Migrating from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify offers a variety of benefits, but there are downsides as well. Here we explain four points to watch out for in particular when migrating.
1. You Need to Secure Customer Acquisition on Your Own
On Rakuten Ichiba, many customers gather on the marketplace itself, so you can expect a certain level of customer acquisition from an early stage. If you migrate to Shopify, however, you need to devise and carry out your own customer acquisition strategy, using SNS, SEO, advertising, and so on. Especially right after launch, boosting customer acquisition on your own can require time and cost.
2. The Effect of Point Rewards Weakens
On Rakuten Ichiba, being able to use Rakuten Points is a benefit for buyers, and it plays a role in boosting consumers' motivation to purchase. Shopify has no point system by default, and requires a separate app to introduce one. Because of this, for consumers accustomed to using Rakuten Points, their motivation to purchase on Shopify may be weaker.
3. You Lose the Trust That Comes with Being on Rakuten Ichiba
Because Rakuten Ichiba is a major platform, its appeal includes a sense of trust for consumers. When you start operating independently on Shopify, consumers may sometimes feel uncertain, wondering things like "Is this site safe?" or "Is this a reliable company?" Especially when launching a new online shop, it may take time to earn consumers' trust.
4. Differences in Advertising Effectiveness
Rakuten Ichiba has well-established ad slots, and you can expect a certain level of effect by displaying ads intensively according to category and keyword. If you migrate to Shopify, you switch to methods such as SNS ads and Google Ads, but you lose the advertising effect of "gaining an edge within a specific marketplace" that Rakuten Ichiba offers, and in some cases customer acquisition may end up weaker than on Rakuten Ichiba.
How to Migrate from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify
There are mainly two ways to migrate from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify.
① Copy Rakuten Ichiba data into Shopify's CSV file and upload it to Shopify
② Migrate using the Shopify app "Matrixify"
If you want to bulk-migrate product information or migrate data other than product information, we recommend using Matrixify (partially paid).
Also, keep in mind that reviews from Rakuten Ichiba are not carried over.
Migrating from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify: CSV Upload
Migration via CSV mainly consists of the following three steps.
- Export the sample CSV file from Shopify
- Copy Rakuten Ichiba data into the sample CSV file
- Upload it to Shopify
1. Download the Sample CSV from Shopify
To import product data, first download the sample CSV. Go to Product management, select Import, and click "Download sample CSV."
2. Import the Sample CSV Downloaded from Shopify into Google Sheets
Create a new Google Sheets document, and click Import from the File menu in the top left. We recommend working in Google Sheets to prevent character encoding issues.
When the import screen appears, select Upload
Upload the Shopify CSV file and the Rakuten Ichiba CSV file, each on a separate sheet.
- Import location: Insert new sheet(s)
- Separator type: Detect automatically
3. Paste the Rakuten Ichiba CSV Data to Match Shopify's Sample CSV Data
Download Rakuten Ichiba's product CSV data from the product page editing screen in the RMS admin panel. Proceed in this order: Product management page screen＞2. Bulk CSV editing＞CSV download.
Paste the information from the downloaded data into the corresponding parts of Shopify's sample CSV data.
Note that since Shopify is an e-commerce platform that originated in Canada, its CSV file is in English.
For detailed information about each field, please refer to:
- The official Shopify blog, "The Definitive Guide! Let's Add Products to Your Store Using a CSV File!"
- The official Shopify blog, "Let's Import Customer Information into Your Store Using a CSV File!"
Please check the above.
4. Download the Shopify Sheet You Created
Select Download from the File menu, and download it in comma-separated format (.csv).
5. Import Each CSV File from Product Management or Customer Management
When you import the CSV file, a preview will be displayed. Check the preview screen and complete the import.
Migrating from Rakuten Ichiba to Shopify: The Shopify App "Matrixify"
Image source: Shopify app store
Matrixify is a convenient app that lets you bulk-import Rakuten Ichiba data into Shopify, but it doesn't support Japanese. Also note that while the Demo version is free for up to 10 product records, a monthly fee applies depending on the plan.
For more details about Matrixify, please see the blog post below.
Reference: What Is "Matrixify," a Tool for Importing and Exporting Shopify Data?
Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify Can Be Integrated
Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify are platforms with different strengths, but it's also possible to integrate the two.
By adding Rakuten Ichiba as a sales channel in the Shopify admin, you can handle product registration and order management all at once from the Shopify admin. For businesses already running stores on both platforms, this can help reduce operating costs.
Note that to integrate Shopify with Rakuten Ichiba, you need to already have a store on Rakuten Ichiba, and you also need to separately sign up for Rakuten Ichiba's bulk CSV editing feature (paid), which incurs an additional cost.
By using both platforms strategically and making the most of Rakuten Ichiba's customer-drawing power and Shopify's branding strength, you can achieve a stable sales foundation and build a long-term fan base.
Use Shopify to Pursue Your Ideal E-Commerce Operation
Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify are e-commerce platforms with different strengths and characteristics. Rakuten Ichiba's appeal is its high customer-drawing power, but its operating costs tend to rise, and you're required to operate in line with Rakuten Ichiba's rules. Shopify, on the other hand, lets you keep initial costs and fees low while freely building a site that reflects your brand image and building direct relationships with customers.
Understanding the strengths of both platforms and building an operating strategy that leverages the benefits of each is essential, but by using Rakuten Ichiba and Shopify together to create a synergistic effect, you can achieve both stable customer acquisition and free operation, and aim for business growth.
