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Rakuten’s Play.com adds 800 merchants to Marketplace since November 2012

Rakuten’s Play.com has added 800 UK merchants to the Marketplace since its launch in November 2012.  These merchants benefit from Play.com sharing customer relationships through services such as the marketplace and Rakuten Mail, a direct mail service which allows merchants to tailor offers and promotions to their customer base through their personalised shopfronts.

http://www.play.com/rakuten-merchants.html.

Key Stats

  • 800 merchants have joined Rakuten’s Play.com’s UK marketplace since November
  • Total number of trading merchants is 3,800
  • 300 merchants have created personalised virtual shop fronts
  • 300% increase in usage of direct mail service, Rakuten Mail
  • Fashion sales increase by 130%
  • DVD sales increase by 120%
  • CD sales increase by 157%

This week, at its bi-annual merchant Expo, Rakuten’s Play.com reveals strong merchant growth, as listings on its dedicated marketplace, which launched six months ago now exceed 30 million, up 40% year on year.

In total, Rakuten’s Play.com now has over 3,800 merchants trading across all platforms, with 800 new merchants signed up since the dedicated marketplace launched in November last year. Shoppers through Rakuten’s Play.com can now browse more product categories than ever before, with sales for fashion and clothing soaring 130% and DVD up 120% and CD categories up 157% over the last two quarters.

At launch Rakuten’s Play.com was the first marketplace to offer customisable shopfronts to retailers, a function which has resulted in over 300 merchants tailoring their digital stores to their brand. Another unique merchant feature that has seen significant uptake is Rakuten Mail, a unique direct mail service to customers that allows Rakuten’s Play.com merchants to tailor special offers and marketing promotions to their own customer base, a service that saw 300% usage uplift in April alone.

Adam Stewart, Director of Marketing at Rakuten’s Play.com commented: “Rakuten’s Play.com is a virtual shopping community with the footfall of a bustling high street online. Our goal is to share our relationship with customers with our merchants to empower them to create the best shopping experience for everyone.  We’re delighted with the response to our new services from both merchants and customers, and look forward to even greater results in the future.”

Supported by a fast growing team of consultants , merchant results from the crucial golden quarter in the run up to Christmas show sales through the marketplace were up 80% year on year. In addition to branded shop fronts and Rakuten Mail, merchants can also tap into live webinars with tips on how to optimise retail sales.

To learn more about retail features provided by Rakuten’s Play.com marketplace or to find out how to become a marketplace merchants please visit http://www.play.com/rakuten-merchants.html.

 

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