Summary
Rakuten Ichiba's "Genre Festival," opening October 4, has sounded the starting gun for the autumn e-commerce battle. Discount campaigns tailored to each category, from electronics and fashion to food, have been set up, and consumers have begun weighing up in advance which category to target. Rather than a simple sale across all products, the design, which varies the selling points for each genre, has paid off: mentions on social media and comparison sites soared even before the event began. The move has once again underlined Rakuten's position as one of Japan's largest marketplace operators.
Details
In the Nagoya area, JR Nagoya Takashimaya has run events and pop-up shops in succession from September 24, demonstrating that department stores are not mere "boxes" but experience-driven shopping venues. In parallel, the leader in the secondhand sector, 2nd STREET, launched a buyback campaign across some 950 stores nationwide, encouraging a circular buying behavior in which unneeded items are sold and redirected into new consumption. Meanwhile, Amazon announced its "Prime Thanksgiving Festival," opening October 16, and search volumes have jumped on expectations of early sales. Amazon Japan, which is consistently named as a reference point for searches and comparisons, retains its presence unchanged and continues to function as a gateway for price comparison. In the streetwear context, HUMAN MADE opened its flagship store in Harajuku on September 26, and scenes of fans lining up spread widely. In parallel, PARCO opened a new permanent store in September, strengthening its role as a home for brand shops. BOOKOFF, a general retailer of used books and secondhand goods, maintained its standing as a fixture in comparison shopping, a symbol of "smart consumption" amid persistent price increases. Qoo10, known for Korean cosmetics, continues to be mentioned in discount contexts as the aftereffects of its earlier mega sale linger. And OMMO, which opened its first permanent store on September 11, was widely reported as a symbol of the trend of online-born brands moving into physical stores.
- 1Rakuten Ichiba's "Genre Festival," opening October 4, has sounded the starting gun for the autumn e-commerce battle.
- 2In the Nagoya area, JR Nagoya Takashimaya has run events and pop-up shops in succession from September 24, demonstrating that department stores are not mere "boxes" but experience-driven shopping venues.
- 3Meanwhile, Amazon announced its "Prime Thanksgiving Festival," opening October 16, and search volumes have jumped on expectations of early sales.
- 4In the streetwear context, HUMAN MADE opened its flagship store in Harajuku on September 26, and scenes of fans lining up spread widely.
- 5Qoo10, known for Korean cosmetics, continues to be mentioned in discount contexts as the aftereffects of its earlier mega sale linger.
Conclusion
Looking at the whole picture, today's e-commerce market can no longer be described by "online sale wars" alone. While large-scale campaigns by Rakuten and Amazon ignite purchase intent, physical touchpoints such as department stores, brand flagship stores, and secondhand shops function as mechanisms that amplify online buzz. From buying used goods to early sales of new products and the opening of flagship stores, the entire consumption cycle is beginning to link together as one major commercial season, and this may be the key to understanding Japan's current e-commerce and retail scene.