Chinese shoppers can’t seem to get enough of Japanese products:during 2015‘s Chinese New Year holiday, Chinese tourists spent roughly $1 billion in Japan. Meanwhile, more Japanese companies are targeting China eCommerce to expand their sales, since Chinese shoppers are getting used to online shopping.

Japanese drugstore and pharmacy company Kirindo launched its eCommerce platform on Tmall.com in 2011. Sales have since continued to rise at a higher than expected rate. “The main business of our company currently is retail stores. But we’ll focus on eCommerce in the future. We’ll let the administration and employees realize the importance of China’s eCommerce, and ally with other companies to advance the strategy,” said online sales dept. director of Kirindo.

Kirindo’s eCommerce platform on TMall

Electronics manufacturer Casio is even developing products customized for Chinese consumers thanks to its good performance in China’s markets. “We believe the Chinese market is very huge and developing fast. Many consumers have high demand for high-tech products. So we’ll continuously develop more products to meet the demand,” overseas operation dept. director of Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Casio to open world’s largest G-Shock store in Shanghai

What do Chinese eCommerce shoppers buy from Japan…and why?

It’s expected that Chinese consumers will buy more and more Japanese goods as additional businesses from Japan enter China’s eCommerce sector. A December Nikkei group survey of 422 Chinese who shopped online from Japanese sellers in the past year shows what items are popular. Cosmetics led the pack, cited by 53.6% of respondents. Audiovisual and information technology equipment was cited by 29.6%, and foods other than snacks by 28%. On reasons to buy from Japan, 52.1% cited authenticity.

Meanwhile, Chinese eCommerce giant Alibaba announced plans to launch a Japanese merchandising center last week and nearly 200 companies from Japan expressed interest in joining. Japan Merchandising Center is an event which aims at helping in enhancing the understanding of local merchants of the way the initiative can benefit them, allowing easy access to Chinese and Asian eCommerce markets.

Japan Merchandising Center held by Alibaba

I’m a Japanese Company and I want to enter China eCommerce. What should I do?

Whether to build up your own cross border eCommerce in China, or to corporate with China eCommerce platform, your first thing to do should be to study China market and to come up with your exclusive China eCommerce strategy.

We understand the dynamics in the China market and offer China-optimised solutions to let you focus on your marketing efforts and operations where your business matters. Contact us and we will provide your China eCommerce solution!

More on Selling to China via eCommerce:

Best Alternative for Foreign SMEs to enter China eCommerce: WeChat Commerce

Forget Me Not! How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment in China Cross Border eCommerce

[Infographic] 6 Facts about eCommerce Consumer Behavior in China