GMO MAKESHOP

What GMO MAKESHOP does

GMO MAKESHOP Co., Ltd. (GMOメイクショップ株式会社) is a Tokyo-based SaaS provider of the makeshop byGMO e-commerce platform, founded in 2004 and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly listed GMO Internet Group (TSE: 9449). The platform enables merchants to build, operate, and grow online stores without significant in-house engineering, supporting BtoC, BtoB, BtoE, and multi-vendor marketplace models with 651 built-in functions spanning site construction, design templates, payment processing, marketing automation, CRM/email, inventory, and multi-channel listing.

The revenue model combines monthly SaaS subscription fees (Premium ¥13,750/month, Enterprise ¥55,000/month), integrated payment processing at industry-low rates of 3.14–3.19%, a 10% commission on third-party apps in the Makeshop Apps marketplace, marketplace-listing commissions (Yahoo! Shopping 14%, LINE Brand Catalog 10%, TikTok Shop 0.8–1.7% via CoreLink), and professional services for design, operations outsourcing, logistics, GA4 configuration, and migration assistance. Zero sales commission is charged on merchant transactions, differentiating the offering against marketplace competitors.

Distribution is primarily direct self-service signup with a 15-day free trial, supplemented by inside sales for mid-market merchants and a partner/reseller program. The platform holds the No.1 position among SaaS EC site builders in Japan by total GMV (流通額) for 14 consecutive years, serves approximately 11,000+ shops, and operates an extensible developer ecosystem via a modernized GraphQL API. The product portfolio was expanded in 2024 through the acquisition of anect Inc. (now GMO Make App, Inc.), which added a no-code native mobile app builder (MakeApp by GMO), and through the launch of a same-day sales payout service.

Name

GMO MAKESHOP

Legal name

GMOメイクショップ株式会社 (GMO MAKESHOP Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://makeshop.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

GMO MAKESHOP operates makeshop byGMO, a SaaS e-commerce platform serving 11,000+ Japanese merchants with 651 built-in functions covering site construction, payments, marketing, and multi-channel selling, generating revenue from subscriptions, payment processing, and marketplace commissions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

E-commerce Platform Software

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retailer-Vendor Collaboration, Joint Business Planning (JBP) & Trade Terms Services (CRAOAOAJ), Wholesale/B2B Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAF), Vendor Master Data Management & Onboarding (BPAAAJAB)

Keywords

• Ecommerce platform software
• Shopping cart SaaS
• Online store builder
• Payment processing services
• Multi-channel commerce

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (Platform Fees): Monthly/annual subscription fees for platform access. Premium plan at ¥13,750/month and Enterprise plan at ¥55,000/month. Zero sales commission on merchant transactions, with revenue coming purely from platform fees.
2. Payment Processing: Credit card processing fees at 3.14-3.19% depending on volume and card type. Also offers makeshop payment integration as part of the platform.
3. Apps and Add-on Services: Revenue from third-party apps published on makeshop apps marketplace, with platform taking 10% commission on app transactions. Also includes optional premium features and add-ons.
4. Professional Services: Additional revenue from design production (kodawari), operation outsourcing, logistics services, cart migration support, store setup services, and GA4 configuration services.
5. Item Post (Listing Services): Fee-based services for listing products on external marketplaces and shopping channels including Yahoo! Shopping (14% commission), Amazon, LINE Brand Catalog (10% commission), TikTok Shop (via CoreLink integration), and other marketing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GMO MAKESHOP provides a SaaS-based e-commerce site construction platform ("makeshop byGMO") with 651 built-in functions supporting B2C, B2B, B2E, cross-border, and multi-vendor marketplace models. The platform bundles site building, integrated payment processing (credit card rates starting at 3.14%), marketing automation, AI recommendations, CRM, and a developer app marketplace into a zero-sales-commission subscription product for Japanese merchants.

Product overview

GMO MAKESHOP operates makeshop byGMO, a unified SaaS e-commerce platform combining site construction, payment processing, marketing automation, and multi-channel selling. The core makeshop platform includes two paid plans (Premium ¥13,750/month, Enterprise ¥55,000/month) offering 600+ built-in features. The product ecosystem spans: the main EC platform (makeshop), native mobile app builder (MakeApp by GMO), email/CRM tool (MakeRepeater), multi-channel listing service (ItemPost), AI recommendation engine (E-Recommend), instant payout service (Same-Day Sales Payout), retargeting ads (ipoclick), integrated payment processing (makeshop Payment), a developer API platform (makeshop Apps Developers), and an app marketplace. All services are designed for Japanese SMBs seeking to operate EC businesses without heavy technical investment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MakeApp by GMO: Original EC app creation service for building custom mobile applications for EC businesses, formerly operated under the Appabrik brand by subsidiary anect (now GMO Make App Inc.).
• MakeRepeater
• Makeshop apps
• Makeshop Payment

Products and services

• makeshop byGMO (EC Site Construction Platform) SaaS e-commerce site construction and management platform offering 651 built-in features covering design templates, payment processing, marketing tools, inventory management, multi-channel selling, B2C/B2B/B2E business models, and cross-border EC. Used by Japanese merchants from individuals to enterprise clients.
• MakeApp by GMO (Native Mobile App Builder) No-code native mobile app development platform for EC businesses. Enables creation of branded iOS and Android apps with push notifications, loyalty programs, and OMO (online-merge-offline) capabilities.
• MakeRepeater (Email/CRM Platform) Email marketing automation platform with scenario-based campaigns, spot emails, customer segmentation, and repeat-customer cultivation. Integrated with makeshop for seamless data sync.
• ItemPost (Multi-Channel Listing) Centralized product listing service for multiple external marketplaces including Yahoo! Shopping (14% commission), Amazon, Instagram Shopping, YouTube Shopping, TikTok Shop via CoreLink, and LINE Brand Catalog (10% commission). Manages inventory and orders from a single dashboard.
• Same-Day Sales Payout (即日売上入金) Instant invoice factoring service that deposits EC sales revenue within 1-2 days instead of the standard payment cycle, with a 1.5% usage fee plus ¥350 transfer charge.
• ipoclick (Retargeting Ads) Retargeting advertising service aggregating Criteo and Logicad ad networks. Fixed-fee-free access (normally requires ¥500,000 minimum spend). Click-based pricing at ¥40-60 per click.
• makeshop Apps Developers (API & Developer Platform) Developer platform for building apps that integrate with makeshop. Provides a next-generation GraphQL API (replacing legacy REST) for product, order, customer, and inventory data with SSO, webhooks, and real-time data sync. Supports public app marketplace distribution to 11,000+ shops or private deployment.
• makeshop Payment (makeshop決済) Integrated payment processing service with industry-low credit card processing rates starting at 3.14% (Enterprise plan) and 3.19% (Premium plan). Supports credit cards, convenience store payments, bank transfer, PayPay, and Amazon Pay.
• Consulting & Outsourcing Services Full-service professional support including EC site design/production (kodawari), operations outsourcing, logistics fulfillment, cart migration support, store setup services, and GA4 configuration services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 consecutive years as No.1 EC platform in Japan by GMV
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• anect Inc.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Fukuoka-based no-code mobile app development platform provider, acquired by GMO MakeShop on October 1, 2024. Operated the Appabrik platform. Following acquisition, rebranded as GMO Make App, Inc. and service renamed to Make App by GMO. Intended to expand mobile solutions for EC businesses and develop new low-cost apps for merchants.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• BigCommerce: BigCommerce is a headless SaaS e-commerce platform targeting mid-market and enterprise merchants with multi-channel selling, B2B capabilities, and an app marketplace — closely mirroring makeshop's Enterprise tier positioning and B2B EC support.
• Squarespace: Squarespace is a website builder with integrated e-commerce functionality, subscriptions, and an extension marketplace. Its no-code site creation and merchant-tier pricing model are analogous to makeshop's approach.
• BASE (BASE, Inc.): BASE is a leading Japanese SaaS e-commerce platform targeting SMBs with a freemium pricing model, directly competing with makeshop for the same Japanese merchant base. Their feature set (online store creation, payments, app marketplace) closely mirrors makeshop's core offering.
• Shopify: Shopify is the global leader in SaaS e-commerce site builders, offering subscription-based online store creation, payments, and app marketplace — directly comparable to makeshop's core business model. Both serve SMB and enterprise merchants with a no-code platform plus integrated payment processing.
• STORES (STORES, Inc.): STORES.jp is a Japanese SaaS EC site builder targeting individual and SMB merchants with simple online store creation and integrated payments. It directly competes with makeshop in the Japanese SMB EC platform category.
• Wix.com: Wix offers a website builder with built-in e-commerce capabilities, including payments, subscriptions, and an app marketplace. While broader than a pure EC platform, its e-commerce features and pricing tiering are directly comparable to makeshop's Premium and Enterprise plans.

Regional players

• カラフルボックス (ColorfulBox): ColorfulBox is a Japanese EC site builder targeting SMB and individual merchants with simple online store creation. It is a regional Japan-only peer competing in the same SMB category as makeshop.

Others

• Stripe: Stripe provides payment processing APIs and integrated commerce solutions that merchants can use independently of or alongside SaaS EC platforms. It is comparable to makeshop's makeshop Payment product and represents an enabling/infrastructure alternative for Japanese merchants.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten (Rakuten Ichiba / EC tools): Rakuten is Japan's largest e-commerce conglomerate operating its own marketplace plus merchant tools and services. While not a direct SaaS EC builder competitor, it overlaps with makeshop's merchant customer base and offers adjacent platform capabilities.
• Adobe Commerce (Magento): Adobe Commerce (Magento) is an enterprise e-commerce platform with B2B, multi-store, and marketplace features. It competes with makeshop's Enterprise tier for larger Japanese merchants needing complex EC configurations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/makeshopjp
• Facebookja-jp.facebook.com/makeshopjp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gmo-

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about GMO MAKESHOP