What Mercari does

Mercari is a Tokyo-headquartered, Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed (TYO:4385) operator of Japan's largest consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketplace, founded in 2013 and serving over 23 million monthly active users. Its core platform enables individual sellers to list and monetize secondhand goods across categories including fashion, electronics, toys, collectibles, and home goods, with primary revenue generated through marketplace commissions on transactions in both Japan and the United States. The company has structured its operations around three revenue streams: marketplace transaction fees across its Japan and U.S. C2C platforms, a fast-growing fintech segment (Mercoin) that reported ¥12.0 billion in Q2 FY2026 (+22.3% YoY) including SHIB cryptocurrency payments, and cross-border commerce fees from international transactions including shipping, customs clearance (via Zonos), and inspection.

The product surface spans the Mercari Japan marketplace, the U.S. marketplace app, the standalone Mercari Japan app for U.S. consumers (launched June 2026) with AI-powered translation and USD payment support, the Mercari Shops seller platform, an NFT marketplace, and a physical retail presence in Los Angeles. Underlying technology is built on Google Cloud infrastructure and an AI-first architecture incorporating generative AI for translation, machine learning for search and discovery, computer vision for automated image quality (via a Photoroom partnership processing hundreds of listings per minute), and an internal generative AI analysis tool (Socrates) launched by the BI Product Team in April 2025.

Mercari earns commissions via a transaction-based take rate, recently restructured in the U.S. into a split buyer/seller fee model accompanied by a 30% first-purchase promotional campaign (June–July 2026). The customer base is fundamentally long-tail: individual buyers and sellers in Japan and the U.S., plus a growing international cross-border segment targeting entertainment and hobby merchandise. Distribution emphasizes mobile-first product-led growth with social media presence across Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Threads, and Snapchat, supported by strategic partnerships with Zonos, Buy&Ship, Bunjang, SAZO, and Photoroom, and a deliberate AI-Native strategic initiative including an AI Task Force of approximately 100 personnel.

Name

Mercari

Legal name

Mercari, Inc.

Website

https://mercari.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Mercari operates Japan's largest consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketplace, serving over 23 million monthly active users in Japan and the United States through mobile apps and web. The company monetizes via transaction commissions, a fintech segment (Mercoin), cross-border commerce fees, and is expanding into new geographies including a U.S.-focused app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer-to-Consumer Online Marketplace

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (4595), All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (459999)

SIC

Retail-Miscellaneous Retail (5900), Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer-to-Peer (C2C) Resale Marketplaces (CRAFAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

C2C Resale, Auctions & Secondhand Marketplaces (BPAMAGAE), Collectibles, Art & Antiques C2C (CRAFAKAG)

Keywords

• Consumer-to-consumer marketplace
• Online resale platform
• Secondhand goods marketplace
• Cross-border commerce
• Mobile shopping app

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketplace Transaction Fees (C2C): Primary revenue stream from consumer-to-consumer marketplace transactions. Mercari earns commissions on sales facilitated through its platform in both Japan and US markets. Both Japan Marketplace and US segments delivered better-than-expected results in Q2 FY2026.
2. Fintech Services (Mercoin): Mercari's fintech segment has shown strong growth, with revenue increasing 22.3% to 12.0 billion yen in Q2 FY2026. The company integrates financial services into its marketplace ecosystem, including SHIB cryptocurrency payment integration.
3. Cross-Border Commerce Fees: Revenue generated from international transactions including shipping, customs clearance (powered by Zonos), and inspection fees for cross-border purchases from Japan to the US and other markets. Cross-border GMV has grown more than 15-fold over three years to exceed 90 billion yen annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Mercari operates a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online marketplace platform enabling individuals to buy and sell secondhand and new items across categories including fashion, electronics, toys, collectibles, home goods, and entertainment merchandise. The platform spans Japan and the U.S., with a standalone cross-border app launched for U.S. shoppers to access Japan's marketplace through AI-powered translation, USD payment support, and integrated shipping.

Product overview

Mercari operates as a multi-platform consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace ecosystem consisting of its core U.S. and Japan marketplace apps, the Mercari Japan standalone cross-border shopping app for U.S. consumers, and the Mercari Shops seller platform. The company has expanded into fintech services including cryptocurrency payments (SHIB integration) and an NFT marketplace (Mercari NFT). Internal operations leverage AI tools including the Socrates generative AI analysis platform. Mercari also operates physical retail presence through its LA store to bridge its online marketplace with offline access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mercari U.S. Marketplace Consumer-to-consumer marketplace app for buying and selling used and secondhand items in the United States, featuring categories across fashion, electronics, toys, collectibles, home goods, and more.
• Mercari Japan Marketplace Japan's largest consumer-to-consumer online marketplace enabling local buying and selling of secondhand goods across categories, with cross-border expansion through the Mercari Japan app.
• Mercari Japan App (U.S.) Standalone cross-border shopping app enabling U.S. consumers to directly purchase items from Japan's Mercari marketplace, featuring AI-powered translation, USD payment support, centralized shipping with item inspection, and shipping protection. Plans to expand to at least 50 countries by 2028.
• Mercari Shops Merchant-facing seller marketplace feature within Mercari Japan enabling merchants to list items, accessible through the cross-border shopping platform.
• Mercari NFT NFT marketplace offering allowing users to trade digital collectibles and non-fungible tokens.
• Mercoin (Fintech Services) Fintech segment providing integrated financial services within the Mercari marketplace ecosystem, including SHIB (Shiba Inu) cryptocurrency payment integration for 23 million active users.
• Mercari Physical Store (Los Angeles) Physical retail location in Los Angeles opening U.S. marketplace to sellers in Japan, expanding inventory access for American shoppers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cross-border GMV grew more than 15-fold over three years to exceed JPY 90 billion (~$558 million) annually.
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ZonoscoreTechnology or Integration · 18 June 2026Mercari selected Zonos as its cross-border technology partner to enable international commerce for its platform, beginning with shipments from Japan to the United States. Zonos provides its full suite of cross-border solutions including guaranteed landed cost calculation and automated compliance services, eliminating surprise fees at delivery for international buyers. This marks Mercari's first expansion of its Japan marketplace to international buyers.
• Buy&ShipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2026Buy&Ship, a Hong Kong-based cross-border eCommerce enabler, established a strategic partnership with Mercari, Japan's largest C2C online marketplace. The partnership enables Buy&Ship customers to access Mercari's marketplace for proxy shopping, supporting cross-border resale operations between Japan and international markets including Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
• BunjangcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBunjang, Korea's leading recommerce platform, established an exclusive partnership with Japan's Mercari to expand cross-border resale between Korea and Japan. The partnership connects markets across Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, facilitating secondhand trades and reducing carbon footprint through cross-border cooperation in the circular economy.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationMercari leverages Google Cloud's generative AI infrastructure as part of its AI transformation strategy. Google Cloud documented Mercari among 1,302 real-world generative AI deployments, showcasing AI's transition from pilot projects to production use.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten: Rakuten is Japan's dominant e-commerce and broader internet services conglomerate, operating marketplaces, fintech, and digital content that overlap with Mercari's Japan retail, payments, and cross-border ambitions.
• Facebook Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is Meta's broad C2C local-goods marketplace integrated into the world's largest social network — a key competitive substitute in the US for secondhand goods and a structural headwind for Mercari's US GMV ambitions.

Direct peers

• OfferUp: OfferUp is a US-focused mobile C2C marketplace for local secondhand goods, directly competing with Mercari's US marketplace for buyer and seller activity across general secondhand categories.
• Etsy: Etsy operates a C2C/B2C marketplace specializing in handmade, vintage, and collectible items — overlapping directly with Mercari's collectibles, vintage, and hobby categories (including Funko/Pokemon trading cards and anime merchandise).
• eBay: eBay is the global incumbent C2C and B2C marketplace for secondhand and new goods — the most direct analog to Mercari's peer-to-peer resale model, with US-based buyers and sellers transacting across collectibles, electronics, fashion, and hobby categories.
• Poshmark: Poshmark (now part of Naver) is a US-focused C2C social marketplace for secondhand fashion, accessories, and home goods, directly comparable to Mercari's US fashion/apparel/handbag categories and sharing the social-selling and take-rate model.
• Bunjang: Bunjang is Korea's leading recommerce/C2C marketplace for secondhand goods and is explicitly partnered with Mercari for cross-border resale between Korea and Japan — making it the closest regional C2C counterpart and a strategic alliance partner.

Emerging players

• Depop: Depop is a Gen Z-focused P2P resale marketplace for fashion and streetwear/collectibles — comparable to Mercari's sneaker, vintage, and entertainment merchandise categories and serving similar demographic-driven social commerce dynamics.
• Vinted: Vinted is a European P2P resale marketplace focused on secondhand fashion, competing in the same social-resale mechanics Mercari deploys and expanding internationally — comparable as a category-focused peer to peer resale platform.

Regional players

• Yahoo! Auctions Japan (PayPay Flea Market): Yahoo! Auctions Japan is Japan's legacy C2C auction and flea-market platform operated by LY Corporation — a domestic competitor that overlaps with Mercari Japan on secondhand merchandise and auction-style listings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Mercari_app
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mercari_app/shorts
• Facebookfacebook.com/MercariApp
• Instagraminstagram.com/mercari
• TikToktiktok.com/@mercari
• Pinterestpinterest.com/mercarius

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors14 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments15 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mercari