4 ms·

Since you mention Amazon: They do have massive success in Japan, especially over the last few years. Same day delivery got to Japanese cities 1-2 years earlier

Since you mention Amazon: They do have massive success in Japan, especially over the last few years. Same day delivery got to Japanese cities 1-2 years earlier than in the US I think, at least we got it in Tokyo for a while now. So I think the lack of polish in web design is actually a good chance for disruption by Western technology companies, it's just that you have to get all the other stuff just right to exceed in Japan (e.g. good localization, high levels of customer service, precision in delivery).

xt00 9y ago
Oh cool, so do they actually have "Buy it now with 1-click" on the amazon japan webpage? I'm super curious if they have it or if its actually used by people?
- glandium 9y ago
  It's there.
- ekianjo 9y ago
  they have. Its used.
inferiorhuman 9y ago
Interesting. I'm surprised that this is successful in Japan given the proliferation of Takkyubins.
- glandium 9y ago
  Most things I buy on Amazon come through Yamato, and a few through Sagawa or the Post office, so in fact, Amazon uses Takkyuubins. (I live in Japan) Tangentially, takkyuubin is actually a trademark by Yamato, and the Ghibli movie, Majou no takkyuubin was actually sponsored by Yamato, and is one of the reasons there is a black cat in the movie (their emblem). The generic term is takuhaibin (宅配便).
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    Their service is also called Kuroneko, black cat, by most people.
    - glandium 9y ago
      Their web site is even kuronekoyamato.co.jp.
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    > Tangentially, takkyuubin is actually a trademark by Yamato, and the Ghibli movie, Majou no takkyuubin was actually sponsored by Yamato, and is one of the reasons there is a black cat in the movie (their emblem). The generic term is takuhaibin (宅配便). Ahhhh. I've seen Ta-q-bin which obviously seems trademarked, but not realized takkyuubin vs takuhaibin.
- m_mueller 9y ago
  Amazon definitely profits from the existing delivery network here - no need for them to build this themselves, and it would be pretty hard to compete with anyways. Delivery in Japan boggles my mind to be honest, I'd love to get an account of their cost structures - the logistics behind making this scale at the existing price point must be amazing and should probably be studied extensively in the west.
  - jpatokal 9y ago
    Cramming 110 million people almost entirely along the coastline of a California-sized country also helps.
    - m_mueller 9y ago
      Exactly, imagine the traffic if it was organized like the US or Europe.
glandium 9y ago
Interestingly, for anything that is not Prime, Amazon almost never gives me right estimates for delivery. In most cases it tells me stuff will be delivered within 3 to 5 days, when they actually are delivered the next day. (I live in Japan, not even in a large city)
- majewsky 9y ago
  > In most cases it tells me stuff will be delivered within 3 to 5 days, when they actually are delivered the next day. I've observed the same in Germany. I think these pessimistic estimates are on purpose, to convince unknowing customers to subscribe to Prime because of the better estimates.
marban 9y ago
The same-day delivery is spot on and probably the best in any Amazon-serviced country. They never missed the 2h time window I picked. Obviously there've never been any dents in the packaging as well.

xt00 9y ago

Oh cool, so do they actually have "Buy it now with 1-click" on the amazon japan webpage? I'm super curious if they have it or if its actually used by people?

glandium 9y ago
It's there.
ekianjo 9y ago
they have. Its used.

inferiorhuman 9y ago

Interesting. I'm surprised that this is successful in Japan given the proliferation of Takkyubins.

glandium 9y ago
Most things I buy on Amazon come through Yamato, and a few through Sagawa or the Post office, so in fact, Amazon uses Takkyuubins. (I live in Japan) Tangentially, takkyuubin is actually a trademark by Yamato, and the Ghibli movie, Majou no takkyuubin was actually sponsored by Yamato, and is one of the reasons there is a black cat in the movie (their emblem). The generic term is takuhaibin (宅配便).
- ekianjo 9y ago
  Their service is also called Kuroneko, black cat, by most people.
  - glandium 9y ago
    Their web site is even kuronekoyamato.co.jp.
- inferiorhuman 9y ago
  > Tangentially, takkyuubin is actually a trademark by Yamato, and the Ghibli movie, Majou no takkyuubin was actually sponsored by Yamato, and is one of the reasons there is a black cat in the movie (their emblem). The generic term is takuhaibin (宅配便). Ahhhh. I've seen Ta-q-bin which obviously seems trademarked, but not realized takkyuubin vs takuhaibin.
m_mueller 9y ago
Amazon definitely profits from the existing delivery network here - no need for them to build this themselves, and it would be pretty hard to compete with anyways. Delivery in Japan boggles my mind to be honest, I'd love to get an account of their cost structures - the logistics behind making this scale at the existing price point must be amazing and should probably be studied extensively in the west.
- jpatokal 9y ago
  Cramming 110 million people almost entirely along the coastline of a California-sized country also helps.
  - m_mueller 9y ago
    Exactly, imagine the traffic if it was organized like the US or Europe.

glandium 9y ago

Interestingly, for anything that is not Prime, Amazon almost never gives me right estimates for delivery. In most cases it tells me stuff will be delivered within 3 to 5 days, when they actually are delivered the next day. (I live in Japan, not even in a large city)

majewsky 9y ago
> In most cases it tells me stuff will be delivered within 3 to 5 days, when they actually are delivered the next day. I've observed the same in Germany. I think these pessimistic estimates are on purpose, to convince unknowing customers to subscribe to Prime because of the better estimates.

marban 9y ago

The same-day delivery is spot on and probably the best in any Amazon-serviced country. They never missed the 2h time window I picked. Obviously there've never been any dents in the packaging as well.