Rakuten Malaysia Banks on Mobile to Spur E-Commerce Growth

Establishing Malaysia’s first Corporate Official Account on LINE and a mobile-optimised site

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5 June 2013 – Rakuten Malaysia today extended a series of mobile social properties on Rakuten Online Shopping aimed at spurring transaction and e-commerce growth in Malaysia. The new developments include a strategic partnership with leading mobile messaging service platform, LINE to establish a Corporate Official Account in Malaysia, as well as the introduction of its mobile-optimised version of Rakuten Online Shopping.

Through the partnership with LINE, Rakuten Online Shopping will be the first business entity to own a Corporate Official Account on the mobile messaging application in Malaysia. This will enable Rakuten Online Shopping to engage and interact with mobile users by providing real-time updates, news and promotions.

“This collaboration with LINE is part of Rakuten Online Shopping’s commitment to staying at the forefront of the latest trends in social shopping and e-commerce. LINE is a fun, entertaining, and engaging social application which falls perfectly in line with our ‘Shopping is Entertainment’ credo,” said Masaya Ueno, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rakuten Online Shopping. “The Rakuten Online Shopping Official Account is set to create an intimate channel for us to keep our customers informed on the best deals and encourage them take shopping on mobile.”

LINE Official Account is a global marketing platform that allows users a chance to befriend and communicate with their favourite brands and celebrities on LINE, the fastest growing mobile messenger boasting more than 160 million users worldwide. Fans can follow the messages, pictures and even video and audio clips sent from the accounts. Unlike other channels, these updates are sent to and displayed on users’ chat screen on their mobile devices, making the whole experience more personal.

Last year, Rakuten launched a similar initiative with LINE and established its Corporate Official Account in Taiwan. Today, it has grown to become the most popular LINE Official Account in Taiwan with over
2.6 million followers.

Enriched mobile shopping experience

In enabling users a greater online shopping experience on mobile devices, Rakuten Malaysia has also launched a mobile-optimised version of Rakuten Online Shopping. Shoppers can now visit the site directly on their mobile devices to seamlessly browse, purchase and pay on this mobile friendly marketplace. A mobile optimised site can potentially increase traffic by more than nine times, according to data collected when Rakuten.com launched similar enhancement in the United States .

The initiative to enhance mobile shopping experience represents part of its integral strategy to capitalise on Malaysia’s rapid growth in mobile commerce driven by increasing smartphone penetration and mobile social interaction. According to data from PayPal Online and Mobile Shopping Insights 2011, the mobile commerce market in Malaysia is projected to reach MYR3.43 billion, contributing to 60 percent of the overall online shopping market .

“The evolving e-commerce landscape is telling us that people want to shop when they want, where they want. Consumers are coming to expect a uniform brand experience across all available channels, whether online or on mobile. To meet this demand, we made our mobile platform more robust, faster and simple, while adding a layer of information push through the Official Account so shoppers can easily access the best deals online wherever they may be. We believe this would reenergise mobile shopping and contribute to a new e-commerce growth stream in Malaysia,” added Ueno.

Rakuten Online Shopping currently offers over 35,000 goods across a diverse mix of product categories, including consumer electronics, computer and IT, healthcare, fashion apparels, jewellery and accessories. Many top local and international retailers have launched shops on the online shopping mall, including Senheng Electric, Best Denki, CARiNG Pharmacy, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Poh Kong among others. Rakuten Online Shopping is one of the fastest growing e-commerce sites in Malaysia. The parent company of Rakuten Online Shopping is Rakuten, Inc., Japan's top internet services company and one of the world's largest e-commerce companies.

1.  Rakuten.com Shopping (formerly Buy.com), Buy.com enhances mobile shopping, reports strong growth in mobile traffic, June 2012