Ship to Japan from Overseas vs. Fulfill E-Commerce Orders Domestically
If you’re a brand looking to sell a product in Japan, along with your Japanese e-commerce site and maybe social media accounts, there is the big decision on how to actually ship orders.
Depending on your commitment, you’ll either find a warehouse and fulfillment solution in Japan or decide to ship from overseas once orders come in.
There are factors to consider such as costs and delivery times, but what’s also important is the Japanese consumers’ attitude towards them.
Japanese consumer survey
We ran a survey to find out how Japanese feel about items from overseas e-commerce brands. In this survey, the question was focused on fashion-related items and American brands.
Survey Participants
750 females, anonymous
Age: 20s ~ 40s
Location: All over Japan
Marital status: 44.8% married, 55.2% unmarried
Child status: 31.6% had children, 68.4% had no children
Residence: 50.5% own the place they lived in, 49.5% didn’t
Annual household income:
More than 10 million JPY: 8.3%
8~10 million JPY: 8.0%
6~8 million JPY: 16.9%
4~6 million JPY: 23.5%
2~4 million JPY: 27.6%
Less than 2 million JPY: 15.7%
Experience & Impressions of online shopping
Q: Regarding ordering products from the U.S. through online shopping, please choose yes/no for each of the following.
About 14% of Japanese females responded that they have experience completing a purchase from an e-commerce shop in the U.S.
More than 70% of respondents had negative feelings about ordering products from overseas, however, citing impressions of “long delivery times”, “high shipping costs”, and “worry about receiving the product safely”.
Shipping times
Q: If you were to order clothes from the U.S., how many days would you be able to wait before you received them? Please choose one that applies.
The most common response for the number of days to wait for an order was "~2 weeks" (about 30%), however 24% said they’re not willing to wait for an overseas order.
International shipping fees
Q: If you were to order clothes from the U.S., what would you be willing to pay for shipping? Please select the answer that fits you the best.
The most common response for the amount of money that would be paid for shipping was "Up to 1,000 JPY”, (31% of all respondents). Almost just as many said they were not interested in paying for shipping from overseas (30%).
Key takeaways
The overall impression of shipping from overseas is negative, meaning there’s a strong likelihood of it deterring purchases.
Combat this by:
A) Using a service that can fulfill orders domestically in Japan
B) Reassure the Japanese customer on your Japanese website, in marketing communications, and by proof through reviews and word of mouth
Japanese online shoppers want to receive their overseas purchase within 2 weeks, and nearly as many don’t want to order if they have to have their purchase shipped from overseas.
Combat this by:
A) Shipping express and make it trackable
B) Using a service that can fulfill orders domestically in Japan
1,000 JPY is the ceiling for shipping fees that Japanese online shoppers would be willing to pay for an international shipment (of clothing). Many wouldn’t order if the shipment came from overseas.
Combat this by:
A) Using a service that can fulfill orders domestically in Japan
B) Growing the perceived value in your brand and product enough through marketing executions in order to make the customer more willing to pay
We hope this gives you some insight in deciding how to fulfill orders in Japan. Feel free to reach out for help with marketing and selling in Japan.
