Rakuten Launches Mobile Pre-Ordering and Payment Service “Rakuten Ready” in Japan

Tokyo, December 20, 2019 - Rakuten, Inc. today announced that its mobile ordering and payment service Rakuten Ready has launched in Japan. Rakuten Ready is a solution designed for companies with brick and mortar shops, such as restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, cafes and retail stores, that allows client companies to easily integrate pre-ordering and payment services compatible with Rakuten ID on their websites and mobile apps.

By using Rakuten Ready, companies with brick and mortar stores can easily provide online and mobile pre-ordering and transaction options to customers, offering an attractive alternative to the high cost of developing a proprietary in-house system. Rakuten Ready empowers companies to build pre-ordering and payment systems that offer a more pleasant shopping experience to customers by reducing in-store wait times and providing greater levels of convenience for product pick-up. In addition to giving customers the ability to make cashless purchases by using their Rakuten ID when pre-ordering and paying, customers can also receive Rakuten Super Points, which can be used to make payments^*1. With more than 100 million Rakuten members in Japan, Rakuten Ready also opens up the possibility of using these points in marketing campaigns and other innovative methods.

As an additional option for integration with mobile apps, Rakuten Ready provides functionality that sends notifications to stores using location data from customers who have agreed in advance to provide this information to accurately predict when they will arrive. This feature allows businesses providing pre-ordering and payment services to deliver a smoother product pick-up experience for customers, as well as increase efficiency for in-store operations^*2.

Rakuten Ready is provided by Rakuten Group company Rakuten Ready, Inc. Founded in 2013 in the U.S., the company works with over 4,000 stores, including leading retailers such as Kroger, CVS and Nordstrom, and leading restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut, Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle, to scale their order ahead programs. Along with the growth in popularity of cashless payments, Rakuten launched this service in Japan in order to help meet emerging consumer needs brought on by rising expectations for pre-ordering and payment services.

Launched today in Japan, Rakuten Ready is now available on Ueshima Coffee’s mobile ordering website (URL: https://www.ueshima-coffee-ten.jp). Ueshima Coffee is a cafe chain run by UCC Group restaurant industry subsidiary UCC Foodservice Systems Inc. The service also launched today on the mobile ordering website for Tonkatsu Oribe’s restaurant in Asakusa (URL: http://www.tonkatsu-oribe.jp/). Tonkatsu Oribe is a pork cutlet restaurant chain operated by Ten Corporation, a subsidiary of Royal Holdings Co., Ltd. Group nationally known for its tempura chain, Tendon Tenya. Customers can now pre-order and pay with their mobile device at four Ueshima Coffee stores^*3 and Tonkatsu Oribe’s restaurant in Asakusa^*4.

Going forward, Rakuten will continue to offer a range of services and mobile solutions such as Rakuten Ready. The company aims to tackle the various challenges companies face, as well as bring greater levels of convenience to customers, both online and offline, through the Rakuten Ecosystem.

*1 Customers are awarded 1 point per 100 yen (includes tax) spent once the pre-order and purchase is complete.
*2 This can be used as a stand-alone feature if a client business already has in-house pre-ordering and payment services.
*3 The Ochanomizu Waterras, Sangenjaya, Akasaka Hitotsugidori and Aoyama locations.
*4 The above Ueshima Coffee locations and Tonkatsu Oribe’s restaurant in Asakusa have not introduced Rakuten Ready's predictive arrival technology.

Overview of Rakuten Ready
Official site: https://rakutenready.com/ja/lp/
Launch date: Friday, December 20, 2019
Overview: Rakuten Ready is a solution for building mobile ordering and payment functionality for client companies
Target: Companies with brick and mortar stores considering the installation of ordering  and payment functions on their website or app.Companies with ordering and payment functions already installed and considering adding increased functionality to their website or app.

About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 1.3 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 18,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

 About Rakuten Ready
Rakuten Ready is a location-centric mobile commerce platform that connects stores and restaurants with mobile customers. The solution makes ordering ahead and picking up merchandise or food easy and efficient. Founded in 2013 as Curbside by former Apple experts in location services, the company works with leading retailers such as Kroger, CVS and Nordstrom, and leading restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut, Chick-Fil-A and Chipotle to scale their order ahead programs. The company is enabling the rapid growth of store pickup and fulfillment programs globally. A public SDK for ARRIVE, its predictive arrival technology already downloaded onto millions of consumer smartphones, enables global app developers to take their customer experiences to new levels.