What GMO Registry, Inc. does

GMO Registry, Inc. is the ICANN-contracted registry operator for the .shop generic top-level domain (gTLD), headquartered at Cerulean Tower in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, and operating as a subsidiary of the publicly traded GMO Internet Group (TSE: 9449). The company's single-line business is operating the backend registry infrastructure that makes .shop domains resolvable on the internet — including the authoritative DNS zone, WHOIS lookup service, DNSSEC signing, and Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) support covering 12 local languages and scripts such as Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Cyrillic, and Spanish. GMO Registry does not sell directly to end users; instead it wholesales .shop registrations to a global network of accredited domain registrars who resell them to consumers and businesses, and operates the get.shop portal as a discovery and comparison layer that routes prospective buyers to those registrar partners. The end-customer base is dominated by SMBs and individual entrepreneurs launching online shops (e.g., Flavor.shop, Superfoodguru.shop, Balsamico.shop), with flagship enterprise validation from Netflix's netflix.shop merchandise store. The company generates revenue through per-registration transaction fees collected from registrars plus premium domain sales on high-value inventory, and is differentiated primarily by brand positioning — "the world's leading domain for e-commerce" — supported by Google treating .shop on par with .com/.org for search ranking purposes. The company is ISO 27001 certified and runs with a small operating team.

Name

GMO Registry, Inc.

Legal name

GMO Registry, Inc.

Website

https://get.shop

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GMO Registry, Inc. is the Tokyo-based ICANN-contracted registry operator for the .shop top-level domain, selling wholesale to accredited registrars who resell to a global long tail of e-commerce SMBs and entrepreneurs, with 3.9 million registered addresses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Domain Registration Fees: GMO Registry operates as the registry operator for the .shop TLD, collecting fees from accredited registrars who resell domains to end customers. Registrars purchase domain registrations in bulk from the registry, which then makes them available to consumers through their platforms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GMO Registry, Inc. operates the .shop generic top-level domain (gTLD) registry, providing the backend infrastructure that allows accredited registrars worldwide to provision .shop domain names for e-commerce businesses. The company monetizes by charging transaction-based wholesale fees to registrars on each .shop registration and renewal, supported by DNSSEC security, WHOIS services, Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) support, and premium domain pricing.

Product overview

GMO Registry, Inc. operates the .shop top-level domain as a single, focused product line. The core offering is the .shop TLD registry service, which enables e-commerce businesses to register domain names using the .shop extension. This core product is supported by the get.shop customer portal, which provides domain search and registration through a network of partner registrars, along with complementary services including WHOIS lookup, DNSSEC security extensions, and Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) support for 12 languages. Additional offerings include premium domain registration and the annual .shop Recap industry report. The product portfolio is unified around the .shop domain extension, with all services designed to support online retailers and e-commerce entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• .shop: The world's leading domain for e-commerce - a top-level domain (TLD) specifically designed for online retailers and shops.

Products and services

• .shop Top-Level Domain The .shop generic top-level domain (gTLD) operated as a registry product, allowing accredited registrars to provision .shop domain names for e-commerce businesses and online retailers worldwide.
• get.shop Portal The primary customer-facing portal for .shop domain services, offering domain search and availability checks, comparison of registrar pricing, redirection to partner registrars for purchase, policy information, and abuse reporting.
• Premium .shop Domains Premium-priced .shop domain names containing high-value search terms, industry-specific words, or generic high-traffic terms, available for purchase and resale at elevated pricing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.9 million registered .shop domain addresses globally
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Domain Registrar PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGMO Registry operates the .shop TLD through a network of accredited domain registrars globally. Registrars purchase domain registrations from the registry and resell to end customers. The get.shop portal serves as a discovery and comparison tool redirecting to these registrar partners.
• NetflixflagshipTechnology or IntegrationNetflix launched its official online merchandise store at netflix.shop using the .shop domain. The partnership demonstrates .shop as the preferred domain for major e-commerce brands. Netflix offers exclusive merchandise including apparel and goods inspired by Netflix productions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Identity Digital: Operates a large portfolio of nTLDs including .store, .tech, .site, and others, directly competing with GMO Registry for new gTLD market share and registrar partnerships.
• Radix Registry: Operates niche nTLDs such as .online, .store, .tech, and .site with a similar go-to-market targeting specific verticals and use cases, directly competing with .shop in the e-commerce-adjacent TLD space.
• XYZ.com LLC: Operates the .xyz registry, one of the largest nTLDs by registration count, with comparable positioning as a new gTLD targeting entrepreneurs and developers.

Broad incumbents

• VeriSign: Operates the .com and .net registries, the dominant legacy gTLDs that compete directly with .shop for SMB and enterprise domain registrations.
• CentralNic Group: Operates a portfolio of nTLDs including .xyz, .lol, and others through its registry business, providing a comparable diversified registry operator model.
• GoDaddy Registry: Operates multiple nTLDs (.club, .design, .today, etc.) and is also a major registrar competitor, combining registry and registrar operations in a way that creates both an analogous and vertically integrated peer.
• Google Registry: Operates niche TLDs including .app, .dev, and .page, applying a similar strategy of purpose-built TLDs with premium pricing and brand-quality positioning.

Others

• GMO Internet Group: Parent company of GMO Registry and a major Japanese internet services conglomerate offering domain registration, hosting, and payment processing, providing strategic and operational context for the subsidiary.
• ICANN: The internet governance body that contracts with all gTLD registry operators including GMO Registry, regulating policy, pricing, and operational requirements that shape the competitive landscape.
• Sedo: Leading domain aftermarket and marketplace where premium .shop domains are resold, representing the secondary ecosystem that affects GMO Registry's premium inventory monetization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about GMO Registry, Inc.