Conservative Consumers Make for an Incremental Approach in Japan

Japan boasts the second largest economy in the world, but online commerce has yet to live up to its potential. Citing today's small online market size as a reason, traditional retailers in Japan have not made substantial efforts to sell online, continuing to focus energies on off-line channels. Meanwhile, the number of foreign retailers in Japan with fully localized online sites is small. With the exception of BOL and Amazon.com, major players that appear in the Media Metrix retail category have either had a prior catalog or physical presence in Japan, which is an advantage. Even this is no guarantee of success. Both domestic and foreign players are plagued by Japanese consumers' apathy toward shopping online and their choosy spending habits.