Tokyo, July 3, 2014 - Rakuten, Inc. today announces the establishment of Rakuten University X (RUx), an online course at the Rakuten University created to teach e-commerce know-how to merchants on the Rakuten Ichiba internet shopping mall, and the launch of 100 free online video lectures through the RUx.
The RUx is an online course that provides information and know-how on the running of e-commerce sites using videos of around seven minutes in length*1. The content is based on the actual experiences of experts and Rakuten Ichiba merchants.
The 100 free video lectures available online from today are made up from the following four courses: “Perspectives of a Shop Manager,” which teaches about the practical aspects of managing a store on Rakuten Ichiba; “Introducing Rakuten’s Services,” which presents the new e-commerce services offered by Rakuten; “RMS Techniques,” which teaches how to use RMS*2 effectively, and “Rules and Laws,” which presents the various rules and regulations relevant to managing an e-commerce website. Going forward, the number of titles online is expected to grow to 1,000 titles next spring as a wide variety of new courses are established, including “Creative Techniques,” “Perspectives of an EC Consultant,” “e-Commerce Know-how,” and “Specialist Pay-Per-View Channels.”
Merchants log in using their personal RUxID*3 and search for the course they wish to enrol in on the main page. With its 7-minute online courses, RUx allows for a more tailored learning style depending on the needs of the audience - a merchant can learn efficiently by watching an online course during their spare time, and can choose the online courses they are interested in and the sequence in which they watch the videos. As a result, more effective shop management, whereby the merchant takes a course using a tablet or smartphone, and puts that learning into practice via PC, may become possible.
Since its founding, Rakuten Ichiba has been focused on supporting its merchants under the concept of Empowerment, which is the mission of Rakuten Group. The launching the RUx today, which allows merchants to learn what they want and when they want in a short time, in addition to the classroom learning at the Rakuten university and e-learning online courses, allows Rakuten to offer a rich variety of learning styles that cater to the needs and lifestyles of its merchants, and is part of the company’s comprehensive support for merchants and their management of e-commerce shops.
In addition to offering information useful to the management of shops for merchants, Rakuten hopes to strengthen the Rakuten Ichiba community and grow together with all its merchants by promoting the sharing of experience and knowledge among merchants.
*1 Length of video varies by title
*2 RMS (Rakuten Merchant Server): The store management system covering all aspects from creating an online shop to transactions
*3 IDs will be distributed from July
■What is Rakuten University?
http://university.rakuten.co.jp/
Established in January 2000 to provide e-commerce know-how to merchants of online shopping mall Rakuten Ichiba. Offers upwards of 130 courses, teaching everything from the basics of managing a net shop to product planning, product photography, and teambuilding. Courses are taught in the classroom at the Rakuten University campuses as well as via e-learning.
■ Overview of RUx online courses
Launch date: July 3, 2014 with further videos to be posted going forward
Courses available: “Perspectives of a Shop Manager,” “Introducing Rakuten’s Services,” “RMS Techniques” and “Rules and Laws”
Future courses planned: “Creative Techniques,” “Perspectives of an EC Consultant,” “e-Commerce Know-how,” and “Specialist Pay-Per-View Channels”