E-Commerce & Online Retail in Japan

Japanese e-commerce remains the fastest-growing major retail channel — and it is on track to become the country’s largest by 2027, overtaking GMS/supermarket chains for the first time.

How big is e-commerce in Japan?

In FY2024, METI recorded total online sales of ¥26.1 trillion, up 5.1% — the sector’s lowest growth rate on record outside the pandemic year, but still faster than any other retail channel. Sales of goods (merchandise) made up ¥15.2 trillion of that total, or 58%. On a five-year CAGR basis, e-commerce growth stands at 6.2% overall and 8.7% for merchandise alone — well ahead of every physical format.

Despite Japan’s reputation for caution towards online retail, spending data shows no sign of fatigue: the average working household spent ¥30,261 a month online in 2024, up 8.4% on the year, with increases in every category except gifting.

Which categories are driving growth?

• Food — the largest single category at ¥3.2 trillion, up 6.4%, yet with penetration of just 4.5% of total retail food sales — the biggest headroom in the market. Forecast to exceed ¥4.3 trillion by 2028.
• Fashion — ¥2.8 trillion, up 4.7%, with online penetration at 23.3%. Forecast around ¥3.7 trillion and 28% penetration by 2028.
• Electronics — already mainstream: over 43% of electronics purchases are made online (¥2.7 trillion), with stores increasingly acting as showrooms.
• Household & interiors — ¥2.4 trillion, up 3.6%, driven by Nitori, IKEA and the big home-centre chains; online share is forecast to reach around 40% by 2028.

Who dominates Japanese e-commerce?

The market is a three-platform story: Amazon, Rakuten and LY Corp together account for close to 70% of total EC sales (some estimates put the figure at 73%). Amazon alone represents over 27%, with estimated GTVs above ¥7.1 trillion in 2024, backed by the largest fulfilment capacity of any retailer in Japan. Rakuten follows at ¥6.1 trillion in GTVs, and LY Corp (Yahoo! Shopping, Zozo and related businesses) at ¥4.4 trillion. In total, the 16 major malls account for 82% of all online sales.

Beyond the platforms, Japan’s top 100 online retailers achieved combined sales of around ¥4.5 trillion in FY2024-25, up 8% year on year. The largest were Askul (¥481 billion), Yodobashi Camera (¥229 billion), Zozo (¥213 billion) and Yamada (¥185 billion). Apparel vendors led by count with 21 of the top 100, typically operating omnichannel models with around a quarter of sales online.

Where is the market heading?

The boundaries between online and offline retail will continue to blur. Merchandise sales online remain on track to make e-commerce Japan’s single largest retail channel by 2027. Logistics keeps improving — courier redelivery rates have fallen from 15% in 2020 to just 10% in 2024 — and nearly every major retailer now treats online as a core channel. Food, fashion and household goods are forecast as the main growth engines, with winners emerging from those best able to deploy true omnichannel strategies and last-mile delivery.

Go deeper with JapanConsuming

The full analysis: Japanese E-Commerce

JapanConsuming’s premium coverage is the complete e-commerce dataset and analysis behind this overview — channel growth versus every major format, the Top 100 online retailer ranking, online mall GTVs and category deep-dives. All reports are available to Enterprise subscribers of JapanConsuming.

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In the report

• Channel growth & five-year CAGR versus all major formats, with forecasts to 2030
• Full Top 100 online retailer ranking with sales, growth and channel mix
• Online mall GTV ranking (Amazon, Rakuten, LY Corp and 13 more)
• Category deep-dives: food, fashion, electronics, household & interiors
• Household online spending patterns by category, 2019–2025

Roy Larke Roy Larke is an academic and researcher. He co-founded JapanConsuming.com in 2000 and has worked in Japan for most of the past 30 years, researching Japanese retail and consumer markets.