Mercari

Mercari is a Japanese peer-to-peer marketplace that lets individuals buy and sell new and used goods directly through a mobile app. Founded by Shintaro Yamada in February 2013, the company launched its service in Japan that July and within a year amassed over one million listings. By March 2016, Mercari became Japan's first unicorn startup, with a valuation exceeding one billion dollars. The company went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in June 2018 under ticker 4385.

Mercari dominates Japan's C2C market with roughly 70% share, and 94% of Japanese community marketplace users choose the platform. The app has been downloaded over 100 million times worldwide and operates in Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan. In 2024, cumulative gross merchandise value surpassed 3.5 trillion yen. The company generates revenue primarily through a 10% selling fee, along with shipping services, promoted listings, and premium seller features.

Beyond the core marketplace, Mercari has expanded into fintech with Merpay (mobile payments, 2019), Mercoin (cryptoasset exchange, 2023), and Mercari Hello (a service rolled out nationwide in 2024). The company also owns the professional football club Kashima Antlers. Its research division, R4D, focuses on AI-powered search and recommendation models for secondhand commerce. [edit]