Rakuten
Japan's largest online marketplace and loyalty-points ecosystem.
Rakuten at a glance
Rakuten is an e-commerce website and one of the most visited sites in Japan, currently ranked #2 in the country. It was founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Today Rakuten is owned by Rakuten Group, Inc.. Our estimates put its audience at ≈ 550 million visits per month. The business earns money mainly through e-commerce marketplace merchant fees and commissions, rakuten card and financial services, rakuten mobile telecom subscriptions. Its closest rivals include Amazon Japan, Yahoo! Shopping, Mercari, au PAY Market.
Traffic statistics
Traffic history
| Period | Visits | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | ≈ 540 million / month | +1% |
| Q2 | ≈ 550 million / month | +2% |
| Q3 | ≈ 560 million / month | +2% |
| Q4 | ≈ 550 million / month | -1% |
Traffic sources
- Direct50%
App and loyalty program traffic
- Organic search24%
- Referral10%
- Paid10%
- Social6%
Audience & demographics
- Men46%
- Women54%
- Age 18-2412%
- Age 25-3424%
- Age 35-5442%
- Age 55+22%
Rakuten's shopper base skews slightly female and family-oriented, driven by point-earning behaviour tied to groceries, household goods and travel bookings.
Geographic reach
- Japan92%
- Taiwan2%
- United States2%
- Other4%
SEO profile
- Organic keywords
- ≈ 3.2 million
- Estimated organic traffic
- ≈ 65 million monthly visits
- Strongest clusters
- Product categories, coupons, points campaigns
Top organic keywords
| Keyword | Position | Volume | Traffic share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 楽天市場 | 1 | Very high | — |
| 楽天ポイント | 1 | High | — |
| 楽天トラベル | 1 | High | — |
| 楽天カード | 1 | High | — |
Backlink profile
- Referring domains
- ≈ 1.8 million
- Link profile
- Strong links from affiliate blogs and coupon sites
Top referral sources
- Google Japan40%
- Rakuten Points app30%
- Affiliate and coupon sites20%
- Other10%
Technology stack
Website technologies
Advertising & analytics technologies
Rakuten operates its own ad-tech and affiliate marketing arm, Rakuten Advertising, and leverages first-party purchase data from its ecosystem for targeting.
Mobile app statistics
- Daily active app users
- ≈ 15 million
- Rakuten Pay transactions
- Hundreds of millions per year
Company information
- Website
- rakuten.co.jp
- Sector
- E-commerce
- Owner
- Rakuten Group, Inc.
- Owner type
- Public company
- Founders
- Hiroshi Mikitani
- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Employees
- ≈ 32,000
- Ownership
- Publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE: 4755); founder Hiroshi Mikitani remains a major shareholder
- Valuation
- Market cap approximately JPY 1.3 trillion
- Revenue
- ≈ JPY 2.1 trillion annually (Rakuten Group)
- Languages
- Japanese, with international sites in English and other languages
- Top traffic sources
- Direct, organic search, Rakuten Points app cross-promotion
Ownership, investors & funding history
| Date | Round | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Founding | Undisclosed | Hiroshi Mikitani |
| 2000 | IPO | Listed on TSE | Public shareholders |
Financials
- Revenue trend
- Steady growth led by e-commerce and fintech; mobile division narrowing losses
- Profitability
- Group has faced losses from Rakuten Mobile network buildout
- Cost base
- Mobile infrastructure capex, marketing, points liability
Business model & revenue
Rakuten operates an 'ecosystem' strategy linking e-commerce, banking, credit cards, mobile telecom and travel through a unified Rakuten Points loyalty program that encourages cross-service spending.
- E-commerce marketplace merchant fees and commissions
- Rakuten Card and financial services
- Rakuten Mobile telecom subscriptions
- Rakuten Travel booking commissions
- Advertising within the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace
Products & services
Flagship online shopping marketplace.
Credit card business, one of Japan's largest issuers.
Mobile telecom carrier launched in 2020.
Hotel and travel booking service.
Online banking arm of the group.
Related deals on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, Global Site Index earns from qualifying purchases.
Seller ecosystem
- Merchant stores
- ≈ 56,000 on Rakuten Ichiba
- Cross-border sellers
- Growing base selling into Japan via Rakuten Global Market
International presence
- Markets
- Japan, Taiwan, and limited operations in the US and Europe (Rakuten.com, Viber)
- Global services
- Rakuten Viber messaging, Rakuten Kobo e-books
Employee statistics
Customer statistics
API & developer information
- Rakuten Web Service API
- Product search, ranking and travel APIs for developers
Website rankings
- Japan e-commerce rank
- #1
- Japan overall rank
- #2
Main competitors
Website comparisons
| Website | Monthly visits | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Japan | Similar scale | — | Rakuten leads in loyalty points; Amazon leads in logistics speed |
| Yahoo! Shopping | Smaller | — | Both compete on points-based loyalty programs |
Overview
Rakuten is Japan's largest e-commerce marketplace and the flagship business of a diversified internet conglomerate that also spans banking, credit cards, travel and mobile telecom. Founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani, it built its dominance around a unified loyalty-points ecosystem.
Traffic Statistics
Rakuten Ichiba draws roughly 550 million monthly visits and about 55 million monthly unique visitors, with shoppers viewing an average of 7.5 pages per session while browsing deals and points campaigns.
Traffic Sources
Half of all visits come directly through the app and loyalty program, with organic search and affiliate coupon sites contributing meaningfully to discovery.
Audience & Demographics
The shopper base skews slightly female and family-oriented, spanning a broad age range from 25 to 54, reflecting household and travel purchases made to earn Rakuten Points.
Geographic Reach
More than 90% of traffic originates in Japan, with smaller shares from Taiwan, the United States and other markets where Rakuten operates international services.
SEO Profile
Rakuten ranks for roughly 3.2 million organic keywords, particularly around product categories, coupon codes and points campaigns.
Technology Stack
The platform is built on Java and React front ends, deployed on Kubernetes and Rakuten's own cloud infrastructure, with GraphQL APIs powering internal services.
Social Media Statistics
Rakuten Ichiba maintains active social accounts on X, Instagram and YouTube, with its X account reaching close to two million followers.
Mobile App Statistics
The Rakuten Ichiba app has surpassed 50 million downloads and reaches roughly 15 million daily active users, supported heavily by Rakuten Pay transactions.
Company Information
Headquartered in Tokyo, Rakuten Group was founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani and employs approximately 32,000 people worldwide.
Ownership & Investors
Rakuten Group is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with founder Hiroshi Mikitani remaining a significant shareholder.
Financials
The group generates roughly JPY 2.1 trillion in annual revenue, though profitability has been pressured by heavy capital investment in building out Rakuten Mobile's network.
Business Model
Rakuten pursues an "ecosystem" strategy, linking e-commerce, credit cards, banking, travel and mobile telecom through Rakuten Points to encourage cross-service spending.
Products & Services
Core businesses include Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Card, Rakuten Mobile, Rakuten Travel and Rakuten Bank.
Competitors
Key competitors include Amazon Japan, Yahoo! Shopping, Mercari and au PAY Market.
Company History & Milestones
From its 1997 founding to its 2000 IPO, acquisitions of Buy.com and Viber, and the 2020 launch of Rakuten Mobile as Japan's fourth carrier, Rakuten has continuously expanded beyond e-commerce.
Latest News
Rakuten Group continues to narrow losses in its mobile division while expanding cross-border seller programs on Rakuten Ichiba.
User Reviews & Ratings
Shoppers value the points ecosystem and frequent deals, though some find the marketplace's promotional layout cluttered.
Pros & Cons
Pros include a powerful loyalty program and diversified ecosystem. Cons include a busy interface and mobile division losses weighing on group profits.
Key Statistics
~550 million monthly visits, ~120 million ecosystem members and ~56,000 merchant stores on Rakuten Ichiba.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns Rakuten? Rakuten Group, Inc., a public company founded by Hiroshi Mikitani. What is Rakuten Ichiba? Its flagship e-commerce marketplace. Does it operate outside Japan? Yes, via Rakuten.com, Viber, Kobo and travel services.
Data Sources
Rakuten Group public filings, Similarweb estimates and the Rakuten Newsroom.
Last Updated
September 2026
Related Websites
Amazon Japan, Yahoo! Japan, Mercari, Kakaku.com and Rakuten Mobile.
Website Rankings
#1 e-commerce site and #2 overall website in Japan by aggregate traffic.
Revenue & Funding History
Rakuten was self-funded at founding in 1997 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2000, growing since through acquisitions and reinvested profits.
Employee Statistics
Rakuten Group employs approximately 32,000 people across e-commerce, mobile network engineering and fintech.
Customer Statistics
Around 120 million people in Japan participate in the Rakuten ecosystem across its various services.
Backlink Profile
Rakuten has approximately 1.8 million referring domains, strongly weighted toward affiliate and coupon blogs.
Top Organic Keywords
Top queries include "楽天市場", "楽天ポイント" and "楽天トラベル".
Top Referral Sources
Google Japan, the Rakuten Points app and affiliate coupon sites drive the majority of referral traffic.
Website Technologies
Java, React, Kubernetes, Rakuten's own cloud infrastructure and GraphQL APIs.
Advertising & Analytics Technologies
Rakuten Advertising, Rakuten Programmatic Media and Rakuten Insight audience data power the group's ad-tech stack.
API & Developer Information
The Rakuten Web Service API offers product search, ranking and travel data for third-party developers.
International Seller Opportunities
Rakuten Global Market and cross-border seller programs allow international merchants to reach Japanese shoppers.
Company history & milestones
- 1997
Hiroshi Mikitani founds Rakuten Ichiba
- 2000
IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
- 2010
Acquires Buy.com (later Rakuten.com) and PriceMinister
- 2014
Acquires Viber messaging app
- 2020
Launches Rakuten Mobile as Japan's fourth carrier
Latest news
- Rakuten Group narrows mobile division lossesRakuten Group IR · 2026
- Rakuten expands cross-border sellers on IchibaRakuten Newsroom · 2026
Pros & cons
Pros
- Powerful cross-service loyalty points program
- Large third-party merchant selection
- Diversified ecosystem including banking and mobile
- Strong presence in travel bookings
Cons
- Interface seen as cluttered with promotions
- Rakuten Mobile has weighed on group profitability
- Slower delivery times than Amazon Japan in some regions
- Complex points and campaign rules for new users
Key statistics
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Rakuten?
Rakuten Group, Inc. is a publicly traded company founded by Hiroshi Mikitani, who remains a major shareholder.
What is Rakuten Ichiba?
It is Rakuten's flagship online shopping marketplace and the core of its e-commerce business.
Does Rakuten operate outside Japan?
Yes, through Rakuten.com, Viber, Kobo and travel services, though Japan remains its primary market.
Popular searches
Data sources & confidence
- Rakuten Group public filingsRakuten Investor Relations
- Similarweb estimatesSimilarweb
- Rakuten NewsroomRakuten Group
- Data confidence
- High for ownership, revenue segments and public milestones; traffic estimates are third-party approximations.
- Last updated
- September 2026
Traffic and revenue figures are rounded estimates compiled from public reports and third-party analytics.
Social media profiles & statistics