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Qoo10 Japan opens first offline Sample House in Tokyo for K-beauty trials
En breve
eBay Japan, operator of the online marketplace Qoo10 Japan, opened its first permanent offline space, a K-beauty “Sample House,” in Shibuya, Tokyo on Oct 1. Visitors pick sample cards, collect free samples on a conveyor-belt pickup counter and are asked to write reviews within 30 days. The company expects around 700 visitors a day and plans further stores in Harajuku.
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eBay Japan, the operator of the online marketplace Qoo10 Japan, opened its first permanent offline space, a K-beauty “Sample House,” in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on Oct 1, according to the outlets. The space occupies two floors and about 412 square metres, or about 120 pyeong, in an area described as a centre of Japanese trends. Newsis published photographs of the store, its live-commerce studio and customers receiving samples. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The store carries products from about 60 beauty brands and roughly 100 items, of which K-beauty brands such as Anua, Medicube and COSRX account for 90%, Seoul Economic Daily reported. Visitors collect sample cards from the displays and hand them to a first-floor pickup counter, where samples arrive on a conveyor belt, the outlet said. Qoo10 members can book a visit online in advance and receive free samples after testing products. [ 1 , 3 ]
According to Seoul Economic Daily, the point of giving samples away is to collect reviews: about 10 seconds after a visitor receives a sample, a review page appears in the Qoo10 app or website, and the review must be written within 30 days. Kim Jae-don, head of eBay Japan’s marketing division, said that in the online sample market Qoo10 has run for more than five years, more than 80% of customers who used samples left reviews and more than 20% bought products. [ 3 ]
Demand before the opening was high, the same outlet reported: pre-reservations opened on the morning of Sept 17 and all 5,000 slots for the opening week were taken that day. The company expects around 700 visitors a day and 20,000 a month. Visitors quoted by Dong-A Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily said they liked being able to test products before buying; one customer said she liked the brand Anua and would come more often now that samples were available, and another said she would probably buy after using the samples she took home. [ 1 , 3 ]
The opening is part of a broader offline push. Seoul Economic Daily reported that Japan’s online shopping penetration rate was 10.8% last year, about a third of the rate in Korea and the United States of more than 30%. Beauty accounts for about 70% of Qoo10’s total sales and the company holds around 30% of Japan’s beauty e-commerce market, it said. From Sept 26, eBay Japan began rolling out “Qoo10 Pick” K-beauty corners at Seven-Eleven convenience stores nationwide, after a year-long test in some stores from September last year; the first lineup has eight brands and 21 products. [ 3 ]
Further openings are planned. A 773-square-metre permanent “Mega Popup” store is to open in the Harajuku area on Nov 20, and in the first half of next year the company plans a roughly 2,383-square-metre flagship “Mega Town” with food and beverage space in front of Harajuku station, according to Seoul Economic Daily. Kim said the company will focus over the next two to three years on marketing that starts online, deepens the experience offline and connects back online. [ 3 ]
Por qué importa
The opening is part of eBay Japan’s push into physical retail in a market where online shopping accounted for 10.8% of sales, about a third of the rate in Korea and the United States, according to the company. Beauty is Qoo10’s core category, at roughly 70% of its sales, so the offline experiment and the planned Harajuku stores are aimed at linking in-store sampling to online reviews and purchases.
Datos clave
- eBay Japan, which runs the online marketplace Qoo10 Japan, opened a “Sample House” in Shibuya, Tokyo on Oct 1; it is the company’s first offline experience space. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The space covers two floors and about 412 square metres (about 120 pyeong). [ 1 , 3 ]
- It offers products from about 60 beauty brands and roughly 100 items, of which K-beauty brands such as Anua, Medicube and COSRX make up 90%. [ 3 ]
- Visitors pick sample cards, hand them to a first-floor pickup counter and receive samples on a conveyor belt; Qoo10 members can book in advance online. [ 3 ]
- Receiving a sample triggers a review page in the Qoo10 app or website about 10 seconds later, and the review must be written within 30 days. [ 3 ]
- eBay Japan’s marketing head Kim Jae-don said that in the online sample market Qoo10 has run for more than five years, over 80% of sample users left reviews and more than 20% bought products. [ 3 ]
- eBay Japan began rolling out “Qoo10 Pick” K-beauty corners at Seven-Eleven stores across Japan on Sept 26, with a first lineup of eight brands and 21 products. [ 3 ]
- The company plans a “Mega Popup” store of 773 square metres in Harajuku on Nov 20 and a “Mega Town” flagship of about 2,383 square metres with food and beverage space near Harajuku station in the first half of next year. [ 3 ]
Confirmado por varias fuentes
- The Sample House is operated by eBay Japan, which runs the online marketplace Qoo10 Japan, and is its first offline experience space. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- It opened in Shibuya, Tokyo on Oct 1. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Japanese visitors tested K-beauty products and picked up samples at the store. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Anua is one of the K-beauty brands available at the store. [ 1 , 3 ]
Aún sin aclarar
- How many people actually visited the Sample House on opening day or since. The only figures given are projections of about 700 visitors a day and 20,000 a month, reported by a single outlet.
- Whether the pre-opening demand figures hold up in practice. The statement that 5,000 slots for the opening week filled on the morning of Sept 17 appears in only one outlet.
- Details of the store’s operations beyond sampling, such as prices, sales volumes or whether products are sold on site. The documents describe free sampling and review prompts, and no outlet states whether products can be bought at the Sample House.
- Newsis’s coverage could not be read in full. Document 2 contains photo captions and no article body, so its specifics could not be checked against the other outlets.
Qué dicen los medios locales
Cronología, hora local
- Pre-reservations for the Sample House open; the 5,000 slots for the opening week are filled that morning. [ 3 ]
- eBay Japan begins rolling out “Qoo10 Pick” K-beauty corners at Seven-Eleven stores across Japan. [ 3 ]
- The Sample House opens in Shibuya, Tokyo, drawing visitors from the first day. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo and Newsis publish reports on the Sample House on Oct 6. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily publishes its on-site report on Oct 6. [ 3 ]
- A 773-square-metre “Mega Popup” store is scheduled to open in Harajuku. [ 3 ]