Rakuten Group's annual revenue FY 2014-2023

In fiscal year 2023, the annual revenue of the Rakuten Group amounted to around 2.1trillion Japanese yen, exceeding two trillion yen for the first time in the last decade. Rakuten is the leading mail-order and e-commerce retailer in Japan, outperforming major competitors like Yahoo and Amazon Japan.

From a domestic marketplace to the global landscape

Founded as MDM, Inc., the Rakuten Group launched its small-scale online shopping marketplace, Rakuten Ichiba, in 1997. Following the rebranding to Rakuten, Inc., the e-commerce company expanded its business portfolio to include communication and sports management services, and financial technology-related services, among others. Nonetheless, the domestic e-commerce segment remained Rakuten Group’s main revenue source.
With the acquisition of businesses overseas, Rakuten expanded its brand outside of Japan, establishing itself as one of the most valuable Japanese brands on the global market.

E-commerce in Japan

E-commerce is one of the fastest developing markets in Japan, with the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce market growing more than double in size in the last decade. Home appliances and foodstuffs were the most common goods and services ordered by Japanese consumers over the internet.
As consumer interest in groceries ordered over the internet grew, large store-retailers like Aeon and Ito-Yokado entered the online marketplace. Rakuten joined the competition with the joint venture Rakuten Seiyu to expand its business in to the online food retail segment.