二手C2C電商平台經營策略與商業模式分析——以日本Mercari集團為例

Abstract

日本 Mercari 集團於 2013 年推出一款以手機應用程式為主的二手 C2C 電商平台「Mercari」，在推出後的短時間內便大受歡迎，集團更於 2016 年成為日本第一間獨角獸公司。「Mercari」如今為日本二手 C2C 電商平台市場的龍頭之一，平台的商品交易總額超過 8,816 億日圓，月活躍用戶數量更達到 2,040 萬人，為日本人口的 16%。 「Mercari」不只在日本二手 C2C 電商平台市場內眾多競爭者中找到脫穎而出的策略，更讓廣泛的民眾接受了二手商品這一個相對小眾的商品類別。此外， Mercari 集團還積極發展多角化與海外事業，嘗試將「Mercari」的成功經驗複製到其他事業上。 本研究以個案研究法研究 Mercari 集團，透過了解日本二手 C2C 電商平台產業現況以及 Mercari 集團的過往發展與旗下服務，分析該集團的經營策略和競爭策略，歸結出其關鍵成功因素，最後討論 Mercari 集團未來可能面臨的挑戰。 本研究整理出集團在創立初期建立市場地位的過程，並隨著事業成長並遭遇到挑戰後，逐漸發展成熟並開始在經營上發揮集團綜效之發展演進。從研究 Mercari 集團的演進過程與商業模式設計，歸納出該集團之成功一方面可以歸功於透過科技技術輔助和平台機制設計，打造出簡單、有趣又安全的使用者體驗；另一方面，集團懂得隨著發展階段與環境之變化調整經營方針，以有效地擴大正向網路效應並抑制負向網路效應，對集團服務規模的成長起到最大的效益。 如今 Mercari 集團致力於為現有使用者提供更豐富的服務、產生更大的價值，同時透過多元的管道接觸不同客群，以持續擴大集團的規模。在未來，集團為了能達成穩定獲利，最需要面對的是該如何在不同市場中建立起自己的競爭優勢。

Mercari was established in Japan in 2013 and launched the “Mercari” second-hand C2C e-commerce platform in the same year. Not only did “Mercari” become popular within a short period of time after its launch, but it also became the first unicorn company in Japan in 2016. Currently, "Mercari" is one of the leaders in Japan's second-hand C2C e-commerce platform market, with a gross merchandise volume of over 881.6 billion yen in FY2022, and boasting 20.4 million monthly active users, which accounts for 16% of the Japanese population. “Mercari” established a strategy to stand out among many other competitors in the Japanese second-hand C2C e-commerce platform market and allows a wide range of people to accept second-hand goods, a relatively niche commodity category. In addition to “Mercari,” the company actively develops diversification and overseas businesses, aiming to replicate the successful experience of “Mercari” in other ventures. This study uses a case study approach to examine the current status of Japan's second-hand C2C e-commerce platform industry and delves into Mercari's history and the services it provides. The company's business strategy and competition strategy are analyzed, and the key success factors are identified. Furthermore, the study discusses the challenges that Mercari may face in the future. The study also examines the process of how Mercari established its market position during the early stages of its establishment. As the business grew and encountered challenges, the company gradually developed and matured, leading to the evolution of its operational synergy. From the examination of Mercari’s evolution process and business model design, it can be concluded that the company’s success can be attributed to the creation of a simple, interesting, and safe user experience through technological assistance and platform mechanism design. Additionally, the company adjusts its operating policies as the company's status and environment change, effectively expanding the positive network effect and mitigating the negative network effect, ultimately maximizing the growth of the company’s service scale. Currently, Mercari is committed to providing existing users with richer services and generating greater value. The company is also reaching out to different customer segments through multiple channels to continue expanding its scale. In the future, the most crucial challenge for Mercari will be establishing its competitive advantages in different markets to achieve stable profits.