Reviews through U-KOMI contribute to employee motivation. Looking to improve offers to increase reviews.

Shisei Hanbai Co., Ltd. sells lifestyle goods made from natural materials through its e-commerce platform. The company implemented U-KOMI to build trust with its customers, which has also led to improved employee motivation through customer reviews. We spoke with 熊谷様, who is in charge of U-KOMI operations at the company, to learn about the background of the implementation, its effects, and future prospects.

Selling Household Goods Made from Natural Materials via Our Own E-Commerce Site

First, could you tell us about your business?

We are a company engaged in the wholesale and retail sales of interior goods, household goods, and fashion accessories made from natural materials. Currently, we primarily conduct wholesale sales through our own e-commerce site to retail stores and distributors, and we also sell directly to consumers (B2C) on Rakuten Mall.

All our products are designed and sold as our own original brands. Popular items include flower vases and kitchenware made from recycled glass derived from discarded empty bottles. We have trademarked this recycled glass under the name "Reuse Glass," and Reuse Glass products are handcrafted one by one by artisans at overseas factories.

Some of our display fixtures, such as hangers and card stands, have been in production for over 10 years and are purchased on a regular basis, primarily by retail stores.

What is the target demographic for your products?

Our main target audience is women in their 30s to 50s. We are particularly popular among those with a strong interest in sustainability and those who value a slow-living lifestyle.

What promotional and advertising strategies do you employ?

For B2B advertising, we run Facebook ads and Google Ads (search ads and banner ads). For B2C, we run ads on Rakuten.

We implemented U-KOMI because we believe that gathering reviews increases user trust

Please tell us about the challenges you faced before implementing U-KOMI.

Unlike fashion-related products, interior goods present the challenge that it’s difficult for customers to gauge size and feel through e-commerce. To address this, we increased the number of images and product descriptions, and we also tried introducing videos. However, since we didn’t have an in-house creative team, we felt the effort wasn’t worth it and decided against it.

Amidst this, we noticed that reviews were naturally accumulating for products within the Rakuten Mall. We thought that implementing a review feature on our own e-commerce site might help us gain user trust more easily, so we began considering its implementation about a year ago.

With other review tools available, what was the deciding factor in choosing U-KOMI?

We compared and evaluated other tools, but the deciding factors were its compatibility with the shopping cart functionality used on our e-commerce site and its reasonable cost.

Collecting reviews has boosted employee motivation. Going forward, we aim to increase the number of reviews by refining our incentives.

What results have you seen since implementing U-KOMI?

Since our e-commerce site is B2B-oriented, we’ve honestly struggled to collect reviews. We feel that one reason for this is that our internal operational structure isn’t fully developed, so we’re currently working to improve that.

That said, it’s certainly true that hearing directly from customers has boosted employee motivation. We’ve also seen tangible benefits from using the feedback to improve our products and services. For example, regarding shipping, our employees handle the packing and shipping directly from our own logistics warehouse. After receiving reviews stating, “They pack and ship with great care,” our team became even more conscious of ensuring careful packing and delivery.

Finally, could you share your future outlook and any requests?

As mentioned earlier, since our e-commerce site is B2B-oriented, we are considering ways to utilize the reviews beyond simply collecting them. For example, we plan to use them as touchpoints with our business customers, such as immediately following up on reviews that resemble complaints. We also expect that as we collect more reviews, the feedback we receive will provide insights for developing new products and expanding our range of sizes and color variations.

Additionally, to encourage review submissions, we plan to offer incentives such as “X% off” coupons or prize giveaways through raffles, highlighting the benefits customers can gain by submitting reviews.