Reduced the cost of review requests and significantly increased the number of reviews. Also used to improve the site

Sonotas Co., Ltd. operates a simple skincare brand focused on moisturizing creams and a brand of self-care products for men. Faced with challenges such as the time-consuming nature of requesting reviews and the high costs associated with collecting them in their e-commerce operations, the company decided to switch review tools and adopted U-KOMI. We spoke with 橋元様, who oversees the company’s e-commerce operations, to learn about the background and deciding factors behind the adoption of U-KOMI, as well as the results achieved since its implementation.

Developing brands for all-over body moisturizing creams and men’s self-care products

First, could you tell us about your business?

Our company operates two brands: “STEAM CREAM,” known for its distinctive packaging design and focused on simple moisturizing creams, and “CIGARRO,” a line of men’s self-care products. We have implemented U-KOMI on the STEAM CREAM e-commerce site.

STEAM CREAM was launched in 2007 and has sold over 10 million tubes to date. We advocate for simple skincare and offer products that not only moisturize the skin but also protect it from UV rays, heat, and air pollution.
In addition to our e-commerce platform, we operate six company-owned stores and host approximately 200 pop-up shops nationwide each year. Our products are also sold in about 600 cosmetic sections of general merchandise stores and mass retailers, helping us build brand recognition.

Both STEAM CREAM and CIGARRO are committed to high-quality ingredients and manufacturing processes, aiming to deliver delight and joy to customers through superior products and services.

We introduced U-KOMI to address challenges related to the effort and cost of soliciting reviews

What challenges did you face before implementing U-KOMI?

We had been using another company’s review tool for about two years, but we encountered various challenges.
The first was that it couldn’t automatically sync with our shopping cart, so we had to manually import order information every month. We had to allocate resources to that task every month, which felt like a burden.

Second, because it was a pay-as-you-go system, it was difficult to balance the costs with our budget. We actually wanted to send review request messages for every order, but in reality, we were only able to send them for about half of our monthly orders.

As a result, we received few reviews, and from a cost-effectiveness perspective, we felt the service was relatively expensive. This was our third challenge.

The fourth issue was that, since it was a foreign-made tool, the admin interface was in English, making it difficult to use intuitively. We considered whether such UI improvements were possible, which led us to explore switching to a new tool.

Could you also tell us about the background and deciding factors behind adopting U-KOMI?

We felt that online reviews were just as important as word-of-mouth recommendations. While STEAM CREAM is applied directly to the skin, customers cannot try it out directly on our e-commerce site. Additionally, out of consideration for the environment, we do not produce samples, and since we only have six permanent stores nationwide where customers can try the product, there are few opportunities for them to test it.

The biggest deciding factor for implementation was the significant cost reduction. Specifically, the cost per email dropped to about a quarter of what it was before.

Other key factors included the ability to automatically sync with the shopping cart and the fact that AI automatically manages whether to display or hide reviews. We also appreciated that the admin interface is in Japanese, making it intuitive to use even for non-primary staff, and that the team actively considered our requests and implemented them as new features.

A significant increase in the number of reviews. Site improvements based on reviews

How would you describe the impact of implementing U-KOMI?

The most noticeable effect is the overwhelming increase in the number of reviews posted compared to before. On a monthly basis, the number has at least tripled, and at times, it has increased tenfold. I believe the factors behind this are that efficient review collection has become possible through automatic integration with the shopping cart, and since we can now request reviews for every monthly order, the total number of potential reviewers has increased.

With so many reviews coming in, we’ve also received more inquiries based on them, and actual purchases have increased as a result. As the number of reviews grows, their content has become more diverse, allowing us to utilize them in the content we publish on landing pages, in email newsletters, and via LINE.

We also receive candid feedback not only about the products themselves but also regarding the site’s UI. We’ve actually made site adjustments based on such feedback, and we’ve seen tangible results in terms of UI improvements. While we conduct regular in-house surveys about our products, we don’t have opportunities to survey users on the site’s usability, so we’re grateful to receive this feedback through reviews.

Finally, could you tell us about your future plans?

Currently, we use a third-party tool to integrate with Instagram, but since U-KOMI offers similar functionality, we are considering using U-KOMI to manage Instagram in a unified manner going forward.

We also plan to implement initiatives to build trust with our visitors by incorporating custom questions, such as those regarding repeat purchase history and the degree of satisfaction.