news

Japan’s Stores.jp partners with major e-commerce portals to help merchants find traffic

Takeshi Hirano 2013.07.30

See the original story in Japanese. Recently we’ve seen fierce competition among two Japanese e-commerce platform builders, Stores.jp and Base. Now it seems both are moving past simple merchants acquisition, looking beyond to see what value they can add to their respective services. Bracket, the startup behind Stores.jp, yesterday unveiled a new feature that will help merchants promote their e-store on the platform, using partner e-commerce portals such as EC Navi, Kakaku.com, and Value Commerce. For merchants, if you use this promotion feature you will be asked to pay a 10% commission for a purchase made via this affiliated traffic. For merchants, products will be featured in search results on partnering portal sites, such as MSN Japan which is pictured below. The startup is exploring partnerships with many other e-commerce portal sites based on a revenue share model. The advent of these simple e-commerce platforms allows merchants to put up an online store far more easily than with conventional ASP-based shopping cart services. It has spurred an abundance of merchants to start e-businesses, but subsequently they have no way to attract new customers. The startup is trying to solve this problem, recently partnering with fashion giant Zozotown, which could be…

See the original story in Japanese.

Recently we’ve seen fierce competition among two Japanese e-commerce platform builders, Stores.jp and Base. Now it seems both are moving past simple merchants acquisition, looking beyond to see what value they can add to their respective services.

Bracket, the startup behind Stores.jp, yesterday unveiled a new feature that will help merchants promote their e-store on the platform, using partner e-commerce portals such as EC Navi, Kakaku.com, and Value Commerce. For merchants, if you use this promotion feature you will be asked to pay a 10% commission for a purchase made via this affiliated traffic.

For merchants, products will be featured in search results on partnering portal sites, such as MSN Japan which is pictured below. The startup is exploring partnerships with many other e-commerce portal sites based on a revenue share model.

The advent of these simple e-commerce platforms allows merchants to put up an online store far more easily than with conventional ASP-based shopping cart services. It has spurred an abundance of merchants to start e-businesses, but subsequently they have no way to attract new customers. The startup is trying to solve this problem, recently partnering with fashion giant Zozotown, which could be new partner site for them in the future, in terms of helping merchants drive traffic.

Bracket’s CEO Yusuke Mitsumoto explains how they plan to evolve their e-commerce platform.

As well as keeping the image of a simple-to-launch platform, we plan to give merchants many solutions to acquire customers. We have partnered with Zozotown, but we will not change into to a fashion commerce site — we will keep going beyond what we have been doing.

Some of our readers may be familiar with the startup’s competitor Base. Base recently launched an iOS app and an interface that curates featured shops. In contrast with Base, which has not yet partnered with other sites, Stores.jp unveiled a partnership with GMO Makeshop, an e-commerce platform from GMO, one of Japan’s leading internet companies. This could be an indication that the startup might be exploring a partnership-based business.

We’ll try to keep you updated about how these two companies’ business strategies compare in the future.

news

Japanese fashion commerce giant Zozotown acquires DIY shop startup Stores.jp

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.07.16

Today Bracket, the company behind Stores.jp, announced that it has been acquired by Start Today. Start Today is, of course, the operator of Japanese fashion commerce giant Zozotown. Since news of the acquisition was released a few hours ago, it has dominated social feeds here in Japan. Bracket was founded back in October of 2008, and the company operates serveral online services including a C2C car sharing site Cafore and custom made ladies shoes service, Shoes of Prey. Stores.jp lets users to make their own online shop in matter of minutes for a monthly fee of 980 yen (about $10). Since it launched back in September of 2012, it has been used to create more than 40,000 online stores to date, and that is projected to surpass 100,000 by the end of this year. Considering that 70% of stores on Stores.jp are fashion related, it makes sense for the company to choose Start Today as a partner. The two companies will work together to enhance each other’s services. Zozotown and Stores.jp will be heavily integrated, allowing brands on Stores.jp to set up shop on Zozotown without the hassle of registering product and inventory information, since all data is seemlessly integrated…

Today Bracket, the company behind Stores.jp, announced that it has been acquired by Start Today. Start Today is, of course, the operator of Japanese fashion commerce giant Zozotown. Since news of the acquisition was released a few hours ago, it has dominated social feeds here in Japan.

Bracket was founded back in October of 2008, and the company operates serveral online services including a C2C car sharing site Cafore and custom made ladies shoes service, Shoes of Prey.

Stores.jp lets users to make their own online shop in matter of minutes for a monthly fee of 980 yen (about $10). Since it launched back in September of 2012, it has been used to create more than 40,000 online stores to date, and that is projected to surpass 100,000 by the end of this year. Considering that 70% of stores on Stores.jp are fashion related, it makes sense for the company to choose Start Today as a partner.

The two companies will work together to enhance each other’s services. Zozotown and Stores.jp will be heavily integrated, allowing brands on Stores.jp to set up shop on Zozotown without the hassle of registering product and inventory information, since all data is seemlessly integrated on the backend.

The startup’s direct competitor is Base, which has likely pushed Stores.jp to hustle by adding many additional services, including professional product photography, original business cards for shops, and most recently, making virtual 3D stores through a partnership with Panoplaza.

You can see in our previously published interactive acquisition timeline that buyouts often take place in the online gaming sector. We hope that this news will serve as encouragement for more up-and-coming startups, especially in the e-commerce space. Similarly, it would be great if we can see more larger internet companies seeking young startups who are making true innovations in the mobile and internet space.

If you’d like to learn more about how Stores.jp works, check out the video below.

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Japanese shop builder Stores.jp partners with Panoplaza for 360-degree e-commerce

Rick Martin 2013.07.11

We have previously written about Panoplaza, a slick photography solution that can be used to create virtual online stores using panoramic photos of real stores. The company’s founder Soko Aoki tells us today that it has now partnered with up-and-coming Tokyo-based, e-commerce startup Stores.jp, a service that lets anyone easily create their own online shop. As of this past April, Stores.jp hosted over 30,000 online stores. It already offers professional photography services for items users wish to sell. So for any small retailers who already have an offline presence, the capability to bring that online with this new Panoplaza’s unique 360-degree store view is a very attractive offering. Stores.jp users can now apply for the service, which costs 25,000 yen, or about $250. The idea, of course, being that once viewers see the store online, that it would induce them to visit the store in person. In Japan, we’re seeing a number of intriguing e-commerce startups providing alternatives to the perennial market leader Rakuten, which still has an abundance of painfully ugly online store fronts harkening back to the days of GeoCities and Altavista. Stores’ competitor Base recently launched a new iOS app that allows users to build their store…

We have previously written about Panoplaza, a slick photography solution that can be used to create virtual online stores using panoramic photos of real stores. The company’s founder Soko Aoki tells us today that it has now partnered with up-and-coming Tokyo-based, e-commerce startup Stores.jp, a service that lets anyone easily create their own online shop.

As of this past April, Stores.jp hosted over 30,000 online stores. It already offers professional photography services for items users wish to sell. So for any small retailers who already have an offline presence, the capability to bring that online with this new Panoplaza’s unique 360-degree store view is a very attractive offering.

Stores.jp users can now apply for the service, which costs 25,000 yen, or about $250. The idea, of course, being that once viewers see the store online, that it would induce them to visit the store in person.

In Japan, we’re seeing a number of intriguing e-commerce startups providing alternatives to the perennial market leader Rakuten, which still has an abundance of painfully ugly online store fronts harkening back to the days of GeoCities and Altavista.

Stores’ competitor Base recently launched a new iOS app that allows users to build their store completely on their mobile. Base is a hot startup in the Japanese space these days, and when I asked Soko about them he says that he would welcome a conversation with them as well, but notes that he hasn’t spoken with the company yet.

news

Japanese gadget vendor Thanko opens global online store

SCORE 1,650

Rick Martin 2013.07.07

If you like strange and wonderful gadgets from Japan, chances are you have probably already seen some of Thanko’s products. The USB necktie fan and the ridiculous smartphone self-shot extension stick are just a couple of the unusual devices that you can buy on Thanko’s website. But now the company has launched a new website aimed at bringing these items to fans the world over. RareMonoShop.jp went live this week, and if you reside outside Japan you can now order a wide array of useless junk awesome stuff from their website. While most of the items are pretty off-the-wall, I admit some of them actually look useful – I wouldn’t mind picking up a ‘lying-on-your-back desk’ for example. In its announcement, Thanko explains a little more about its expansion: Till now, we were operating within the domestic market due to distribution-related issues. But after working out the details of an overseas payment system based on “PayPal” and product delivery using EMS and international mail, we have now opened the new service for the global market. The new shop will offer a 10% discount on purchases over $50 dollars for the rest of July (coupon code SP10), so if there’s anything…

If you like strange and wonderful gadgets from Japan, chances are you have probably already seen some of Thanko’s products. The USB necktie fan and the ridiculous smartphone self-shot extension stick are just a couple of the unusual devices that you can buy on Thanko’s website.

But now the company has launched a new website aimed at bringing these items to fans the world over. RareMonoShop.jp went live this week, and if you reside outside Japan you can now order a wide array of ~~useless junk~~ awesome stuff from their website. While most of the items are pretty off-the-wall, I admit some of them actually look useful – I wouldn’t mind picking up a ‘lying-on-your-back desk’ for example.

In its announcement, Thanko explains a little more about its expansion:

Till now, we were operating within the domestic market due to distribution-related issues. But after working out the details of an overseas payment system based on “PayPal” and product delivery using EMS and international mail, we have now opened the new service for the global market.

The new shop will offer a 10% discount on purchases over $50 dollars for the rest of July (coupon code SP10), so if there’s anything on the site that you’d like to buy, now is the time to get it.

Thanko-bed-desk-for-laptop — Thanko’s lying-on-your-back desk

news

Japanese startup Fluxflex launches easy-to-install card payment solution

Masaru Ikeda 2013.07.04

Led by Japanese serial entrepreneur Kei Kubo, FluxFlex is a startup working out of PariSoma, a notable co-working space in San Francisco. It recently announced the launch of WebPay, an easy-to-install, freemium card payment solution for Japanese e-commerce companies. The service was previously made available last April to a limited number of developers for testing purposes. Compared to conventional solutions, the WebPay service is not difficult to install, and its API is compatible with Stripe, a leading payment processor in the US. Because cross-border transactions are not permitted under international card transaction rules, WebPay aspires to fill card transaction needs for web payment services in the Japanese market. In order to give developers an easy-to-install interface for payments, the startup has partnered with GMO Payment Gateway, one of the oldest and biggest payment processing companies in Japan. Upon its official launch, the company also received an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Ventures, Architype, and GMO Payment Gateway. In terms of use cases, Japanese startups such as accounting SaaS Freee and subscription-based Japanese sake delivery service Sakelife are using Fluxflex’s solution to fulfill their payment needs.

Led by Japanese serial entrepreneur Kei Kubo, FluxFlex is a startup working out of PariSoma, a notable co-working space in San Francisco. It recently announced the launch of WebPay, an easy-to-install, freemium card payment solution for Japanese e-commerce companies. The service was previously made available last April to a limited number of developers for testing purposes.

Compared to conventional solutions, the WebPay service is not difficult to install, and its API is compatible with Stripe, a leading payment processor in the US. Because cross-border transactions are not permitted under international card transaction rules, WebPay aspires to fill card transaction needs for web payment services in the Japanese market.

In order to give developers an easy-to-install interface for payments, the startup has partnered with GMO Payment Gateway, one of the oldest and biggest payment processing companies in Japan. Upon its official launch, the company also received an undisclosed amount of funding from CyberAgent Ventures, Architype, and GMO Payment Gateway.

In terms of use cases, Japanese startups such as accounting SaaS Freee and subscription-based Japanese sake delivery service Sakelife are using Fluxflex’s solution to fulfill their payment needs.

news

Japanese e-commerce platform provider Base introduces new iPhone app

Takeshi Hirano 2013.07.03

See the original story in Japanese. Base is an e-commerce platform provider startup from Tokyo. It was born out of Project Liverty, a tech savvy team led by serial entrepreneur Kazuma Ieiri. In contrast with their competitor Stores.jp, the Base team has been pretty quiet recently. But they have released a new iOS app today, which allows merchants to build and manage their online shops entirely on mobile. In addition, the company has added a new feature called ‘Base Curation,’ which has an interface resembling an online shopping mall, curating featured shops. It displays users’ shops which have been selected by the company’s management, and if you would to like them to feature your shop in the menu, you can make a request via the dashboard. I asked the startup’s CEO Yuta Tsuruoka if the curation menu is a special business strategy for Base — but he said that this wasn’t quite the intention, explaining: Unlike other mall platforms (which have many tenant merchants), our service does not provide a way to find a specific shop on the platform. We want to see how we can encourage merchants to set up their online shop on our platform. When you launch…

See the original story in Japanese.

Base is an e-commerce platform provider startup from Tokyo. It was born out of Project Liverty, a tech savvy team led by serial entrepreneur Kazuma Ieiri. In contrast with their competitor Stores.jp, the Base team has been pretty quiet recently. But they have released a new iOS app today, which allows merchants to build and manage their online shops entirely on mobile.

In addition, the company has added a new feature called ‘Base Curation,’ which has an interface resembling an online shopping mall, curating featured shops. It displays users’ shops which have been selected by the company’s management, and if you would to like them to feature your shop in the menu, you can make a request via the dashboard.

I asked the startup’s CEO Yuta Tsuruoka if the curation menu is a special business strategy for Base — but he said that this wasn’t quite the intention, explaining:

Unlike other mall platforms (which have many tenant merchants), our service does not provide a way to find a specific shop on the platform. We want to see how we can encourage merchants to set up their online shop on our platform. When you launch an app, it shows you a number of online shops where you can quickly jump in to purchase something you want, but you can also [just as] easily establish your own shop from the menu.

Placing pictures of products, changing design, inventory management, etc. – all these tasks can be completed with the smartphone app because we really want to give more people opportunities to build up their own “economic block”.

Base is not trying to be a big e-commerce portal, but a rather platform where people can easily repeat transactions, buying and selling items by leveraging their social connections, and accelerating long-tail businesses.

According to Mr. Tsuruoka, almost 60% of their purchasing traffic comes from mobile devices.

Of course, all these updates are very likely a direct result of Ieiri’s own philosophies. I asked him how they plan to compete against various competitors, including major e-commerce platforms, shopping cart ASPs, and other similar services. He answered me directly, not hiding his intentions of taking the fight to his competitors:

They are elephants or capybaras [1], but we are mere ants, in contrast. For ants, even if you join forces with capybaras, there’s no way you can defeat elephants. Therefore, you must dig up the ground so that you might trip up the elephants. Understand?

The Base team is expecting to see 500,000 downloads of their iOS app by the end of this month. Let’s stay tuned to see how they do!

The capybara is the largest rodent in the world according to Wikipedia. Editor’s note: Ieiri’s metaphor is a little strange, but it seems capybaras might be a less obscure animal among Japanese people because it is cute, and has been featured in some TV commercials. ↩

news

Japan-based design site Creatty launches e-commerce channels

Takeshi Hirano 2013.06.18

See the original story in Japanese. Creatty is a website that allows creators to show off their work online. Connehito, the Japan-based startup that operates the service, recently announced an e-commerce channel called Creatty Store, where creators can sell their works online without inventory. Since its launch back in April of 2012, the website has acquired more than 20,000 fine arts and crafts items from creators. The service is available to access for free on PC, iOS, and Android platforms. On this new e-commerce channel, the startup plans to feature standout designs posted on the platform and help creators to manufacture them for sale. At the time of launch, items available include skins for smartphone handsets and t-shirts only. The startup will take care of manufacturing and shipping, and pay a commission (upon sale) to those who have designed the products. This is a somewhat unusual approach to its business scheme. For many C2C market sites dealing in handmade crafts (such as Etsy), users sell their works online and the platform will take a commission afterwards. The startup originally considered a concept similar to what other C2C services are doing, but instead they stand in the middle between creators and…

See the original story in Japanese.

Creatty is a website that allows creators to show off their work online. Connehito, the Japan-based startup that operates the service, recently announced an e-commerce channel called Creatty Store, where creators can sell their works online without inventory.

Since its launch back in April of 2012, the website has acquired more than 20,000 fine arts and crafts items from creators. The service is available to access for free on PC, iOS, and Android platforms. On this new e-commerce channel, the startup plans to feature standout designs posted on the platform and help creators to manufacture them for sale. At the time of launch, items available include skins for smartphone handsets and t-shirts only.

The startup will take care of manufacturing and shipping, and pay a commission (upon sale) to those who have designed the products. This is a somewhat unusual approach to its business scheme. For many C2C market sites dealing in handmade crafts (such as Etsy), users sell their works online and the platform will take a commission afterwards. The startup originally considered a concept similar to what other C2C services are doing, but instead they stand in the middle between creators and buyers. We asked CEO Shunsuke Oyu about why he chose this scheme. He explained:

For craft creators, we thought it would be very simple to photograph the works they produce and simply sell them online. That was our original concept. We developed a web app for selling them online, but very few people used it. We learned the market was not quite mature [enough]. And it was probably hard for them to make goods by themselves.

Typical creators using the service are generally folks into fine arts. And it’s likely difficult for them to manage an inventory of products like experienced e-commerce merchandisers.

Mr. Oyu explains that the startup will add more creators on e-commerce channels with plans to have up to 50 creators in the coming months. They are expecting to start dealing with canvas prints and fashion items as well.

news

Japanese government to finally lift ban on online drug sales

Masaru Ikeda 2013.06.12

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced earlier this week that the government would lift the ban on online drug sales as a part of his economic stimulus package. In Japan, online drug sales has been prohibited not only because of the obvious fear that people would abuse over-the-counter drugs without proper medical consultation, but also — and this is the main reason — is that conventional drug retail chains and entities in the pharmaceutical industry are resisting the change. As some of our readers may know, Hiroshi Mikitani, the head of Japanese commerce giant Rakuten (JASDAQ:4755), has been strongly lobbying the government for the past few years to remove the ban. It should also be noted that company has more than a half stake in the Japan’s largest online drug retailer, Kenko.com (TSE Mothers:3325). That company has established a local subsidiary in Singapore to serve Japanese customers without violating the Japanese drug law. Rakuten’s Mikitani and Kenko.com’s CEO Genri Goto once brought a lawsuit against the government, because the regulation reduced accessibility of drugs and supplements for many who really needed them. Upon the government’s announcement, Kenko.com’s Goto commented: I really appreciate the prime minister’s decisive judgment (to lift the ban)…

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced earlier this week that the government would lift the ban on online drug sales as a part of his economic stimulus package. In Japan, online drug sales has been prohibited not only because of the obvious fear that people would abuse over-the-counter drugs without proper medical consultation, but also — and this is the main reason — is that conventional drug retail chains and entities in the pharmaceutical industry are resisting the change.

As some of our readers may know, Hiroshi Mikitani, the head of Japanese commerce giant Rakuten (JASDAQ:4755), has been strongly lobbying the government for the past few years to remove the ban. It should also be noted that company has more than a half stake in the Japan’s largest online drug retailer, Kenko.com (TSE Mothers:3325). That company has established a local subsidiary in Singapore to serve Japanese customers without violating the Japanese drug law.

Rakuten’s Mikitani and Kenko.com’s CEO Genri Goto once brought a lawsuit against the government, because the regulation reduced accessibility of drugs and supplements for many who really needed them. Upon the government’s announcement, Kenko.com’s Goto commented:

I really appreciate the prime minister’s decisive judgment (to lift the ban) because it will permit the sale of “all types of medical drugs” online. In terms of providing pharmaceutical consultations to customers when purchasing drugs, it is needless to discuss whether online or face-to-face consultation is better. To meet the needs and expectations of consumers, we need to discuss what kind of rules will serve them better.

On a related note, Askul (TSE:2678), one of Japan’s largest B2B services dealing in office stationary is reportedly going to join the Japanese online drug market soon. In terms of the variety of drugs available, Askul expects to sell more than 4,000 kinds of drugs on its website, which means stiff competition for Kenko.com which has 4,300 items currently available.

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Japanese e-commerce service Locondo partners with Spanish brand to strengthen its lineup

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.05.24

Locondo is a shoes and fashion e-commerce service that allows consumers to ‘buy first and than choose.’ What that means is that consumers can try on items that they have bought and return things that don’t fit within 30 days, with a full money-back guarantee. The site opened back in Feburary of 2011 and has over 300,000 registered members. Locondo is backed by Rocket Internet, as well as Lead Capital Management and Itochu Technology Ventures. Locondo can be described as a sort of ultimate e-commerce, providing its customers with free shipping, 30-day returns, next-day delivery, and even concierge service. The latter is available by both email and telephone, answering questions not only about how the site functions but also questions like what kind of shoes would be recommended to wear for a wedding. According to online fashion portal Fashionsnap, the return rate for orders is not as high as expected at 25%. Of those who buy, 30% of userscomes back to the site to buy more. Five months after launch, Locondo added bags to its line up, and they currently account for roughly 15% to 20% of total sales. And now, the company has announced a partnership with Spanish brand…

Locondo is a shoes and fashion e-commerce service that allows consumers to ‘buy first and than choose.’ What that means is that consumers can try on items that they have bought and return things that don’t fit within 30 days, with a full money-back guarantee. The site opened back in Feburary of 2011 and has over 300,000 registered members. Locondo is backed by Rocket Internet, as well as Lead Capital Management and Itochu Technology Ventures.

Locondo can be described as a sort of ultimate e-commerce, providing its customers with free shipping, 30-day returns, next-day delivery, and even concierge service. The latter is available by both email and telephone, answering questions not only about how the site functions but also questions like what kind of shoes would be recommended to wear for a wedding. According to online fashion portal Fashionsnap, the return rate for orders is not as high as expected at 25%. Of those who buy, 30% of userscomes back to the site to buy more.

Five months after launch, Locondo added bags to its line up, and they currently account for roughly 15% to 20% of total sales. And now, the company has announced a partnership with Spanish brand Desigual, as well as its expansion into a wider range of fashion items. Desigual is a popular fashion brand in trendy locations like Harajuku in Tokyo or Shinsaibashi in Osaka.

Locondo will also be working with Cross Company, which runs well-known brands such as earth music & ecology. The company plans to acquire over 100 brands by this summer, and 1,000 by the year 2016.

All these moves by Locondo are not only attemps to enhance the user experience, but also to compete against its biggest competitor Javari, which is operated by internet giant Amazon. On the comparison site called EC Navi, Locondo has a rating of 89 points out of 100, where Javari has a rating of only 66 points. Locondo has reflected on its user feedback, including feedback on its ‘Easy Search’ which allows users to easily find what they are looking for through images.

In general, women in Japan seem to be more open to online shopping. At least that’s probably the case for women who use feature phones, shopping on popular and cheap fashion sites such as Yumetenbo. But on sites like this, girls buy only because items are unbelievably cheap. Locondo is taking another approach to making online shopping more accessible and affordable for many users, and giving them a way out in case they are disappointed.

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How flea markets are going mobile in Japan

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.05.14

There’s a lot of hype around the e-commerce space in Japan, particularly mobile commerce. According to a recent survey, one of four smartphone owners who read news on their mobile (the most popular activity among those polled) also report having bought something on their device. So it is not surprising to find many tech companies eager to get a piece of this growing market. One approach that many companies are taking is to create a sort of mobile flea market platform. To understand more about this trend, here are five apps from the sector which we think are worthy of recognition. Mainichi Frima ¶ The Mainichi Frima app (roughly translated as ‘Everyday Flea Market’) from CyberAgent features a range of stores and items, and a bulletin board upon which you can negotiate deals and prices. The app has successfully reproduced the offline flea market experience in the online space. The service is most popular among women in their 20s and 30s, and just five months after its initial release, the app already features items worth over 300 million yen (nearly $3 million) in total. The app is available both on iOS and on Android if you’d like to check it…

There’s a lot of hype around the e-commerce space in Japan, particularly mobile commerce. According to a recent survey, one of four smartphone owners who read news on their mobile (the most popular activity among those polled) also report having bought something on their device. So it is not surprising to find many tech companies eager to get a piece of this growing market. One approach that many companies are taking is to create a sort of mobile flea market platform. To understand more about this trend, here are five apps from the sector which we think are worthy of recognition.

Mainichi Frima ¶

The Mainichi Frima app (roughly translated as ‘Everyday Flea Market’) from CyberAgent features a range of stores and items, and a bulletin board upon which you can negotiate deals and prices. The app has successfully reproduced the offline flea market experience in the online space. The service is most popular among women in their 20s and 30s, and just five months after its initial release, the app already features items worth over 300 million yen (nearly $3 million) in total. The app is available both on iOS and on Android if you’d like to check it out.

Prima ¶

For those of you with kids, you know how fast they grow. They keep out-growing the clothes and toys you have bought for them faster than you can buy them. Web and mobile development company Xtone came up with a solution they call Prima.

Parents can simply hand down their items to other parents who have younger kids. The app is free for anyone who wishes to sign up, but it will take a 10% commision for every transaction made. Prima for Android can be downloaded here.

Fril ¶

A graduate startup of the Open Network Lab incubator, Fril is a flea market app targeting young girls and women. Just a month after its launch, the app had over 8,000 items for sale. Fril very deliberately made the entire auction process mobile only — which is unconventional, but at this point it looks like a sound strategy. Of its total registered users, one in five girls puts their items on sale with the average price of a item falling somewhere between 2000 to 3000 yen (about $20 to $30). The app is available on both iOS and Android.

MicroStore.me ¶

Behind every item in your closet, there is a story. Where you bought it and why, or maybe someone gave it to you for a reason. Miyazaki-based development company Aratana has created a commerce app for iOS called MicroStore.me. It provides a place where people can sell an item by telling the story behind that item. Users can share these stories on different social networks, allowing them to not only make money from what they don’t want anymore, but through the story process they get to connect with like-minded people. Check out how the app works in the video below.

Pashaoku ¶

Pashaoku is an auction app developed by the folks over at CyberAgent. As a comprehensive auction application, its competitors are internet giants like Yahoo Auction and Bidders (now known as DeNA Shopping). Auction categories ranges from fashion to interior decorations, or even manga and books. CyberAgent is using the same strategy that it has taken with its Ameba Blog, leveraging the power of celebrities and well-known TV talent. These celebrities are selling signed books and sneakers that they have worn, for which I’m sure fans will pay a high price. Pashaoku is available for download on both iOS and Android.

Mobile commerce is definitely a fascinating sector to watch. Online auctions and flea markets can often be simplified when conducted on smartphones, wheras they sometimes confuse users on PCs. There’s certainly lots of potential for small services like these to seep into the mainstream.

ecommerce

Japan’s Stores.jp partners with major e-commerce portals to help merchants find traffic

Japanese fashion commerce giant Zozotown acquires DIY shop startup Stores.jp

Japanese shop builder Stores.jp partners with Panoplaza for 360-degree e-commerce

Japanese gadget vendor Thanko opens global online store

Japanese startup Fluxflex launches easy-to-install card payment solution

Japanese e-commerce platform provider Base introduces new iPhone app

Japan-based design site Creatty launches e-commerce channels

Japanese government to finally lift ban on online drug sales

Japanese e-commerce service Locondo partners with Spanish brand to strengthen its lineup