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Rakuten’s E-Commerce UX
This is a case study of Rakuten’s e-commerce user experience (UX) performance. It’s based on an exhaustive performance review of 705 design elements. 62 other sites have also been benchmarked for a complete picture of the e-commerce UX landscape.
Rakuten's overall e-commerce UX performance is mediocre. The main culprits of this are broken On-Site Search, Order Tracking & Returns, and Product Lists & Filtering performances.
First benchmarked in March 2012, and reviewed 15 times since then, most recently February 2020.
Poor
Mediocre
Acceptable
Decent
Good
Overall UX Performance
705 Guidelines · Performance:
Homepage & Category
64 Guidelines · Performance:
Homepage
15 Guidelines · Performance:
Category Taxonomy
15 Guidelines · Performance:
Main Navigation
16 Guidelines · Performance:
Intermediary Category Pages
6 Guidelines · Performance:
Site-Wide Layout
12 Guidelines · Performance:
On-Site Search
50 Guidelines · Performance:
Search Query Types
12 Guidelines · Performance:
Search Form & Logic
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Search Autocomplete
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Results Logic & Guidance
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Results Layout & Filtering
12 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Lists & Filtering
95 Guidelines · Performance:
List Layout
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Loading Products
6 Guidelines · Performance:
List Items: Product Info & Thumbnails
20 Guidelines · Performance:
List Items: Product Info
11 Guidelines · Performance:
List Items: Product Thumbnails
9 Guidelines · Performance:
List Items: Interface & Hit Areas
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Filtering: Available Filters
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Filtering: Scope & Logic
14 Guidelines · Performance:
Filtering: Interface & Layout
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Sorting
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Comparison Tool
5 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Page
95 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Page Layout
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Images
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Image Gallery UI
12 Guidelines · Performance:
The 'Buy' Section
9 Guidelines · Performance:
Shipping, Returns, and Gifting
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Variations
9 Guidelines · Performance:
Product Descriptions
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Specifications Sheet
5 Guidelines · Performance:
User Reviews
13 Guidelines · Performance:
Cross-Sells & Cross-Navigation
9 Guidelines · Performance:
Cart & Checkout
131 Guidelines · Performance:
Shopping Cart & "Added to Cart" Behavior
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Account Selection & Creation
9 Guidelines · Performance:
Customer & Address Information
12 Guidelines · Performance:
Gifting Flow & Features
5 Guidelines · Performance:
Shipping & Store Pickup
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Payment Flow & Methods (Incl. Third-Party)
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Credit Card Form
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Order Review
5 Guidelines · Performance:
Order Confirmation & E-Mail
4 Guidelines · Performance:
Form & Page Design
10 Guidelines · Performance:
User Interactions & Distractions
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Cross-Sells
4 Guidelines · Performance:
Validation Errors & Data Persistence
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Field Labels & Microcopy
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Field Design & Features
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Default Values & Autocompletion
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Customer Accounts
40 Guidelines · Performance:
Account Drop-Down
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Account Dashboard
6 Guidelines · Performance:
Account Sign In
6 Guidelines · Performance:
'Your Account': Addresses, Payments, & Newsletters
13 Guidelines · Performance:
Account-Wide Navigation, Structure, & Information
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Order Tracking & Returns
25 Guidelines · Performance:
Orders & Order Tracking
14 Guidelines · Performance:
Order Returns
11 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile E-Commerce
205 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Homepage
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Main Navigation & Categories
21 Guidelines · Performance:
Main Navigation
6 Guidelines · Performance:
Category Taxonomy
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Category Pages
5 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile On-Site Search
23 Guidelines · Performance:
Autocomplete
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Query Types
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Design & Logic
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Product List
43 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Product List Layout & Features
18 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Filtering
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile List Item Content
18 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Product Pages
19 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Checkout
47 Guidelines · Performance:
Shopping Cart
4 Guidelines · Performance:
Account Selection & Creation
7 Guidelines · Performance:
User Info
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Payment
12 Guidelines · Performance:
Shipping & Store Pickup
6 Guidelines · Performance:
Order Review & Confirmation
9 Guidelines · Performance:
Layout & Features
2 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Forms
25 Guidelines · Performance:
Form Fields
10 Guidelines · Performance:
Field Validation
8 Guidelines · Performance:
Input Optimization
7 Guidelines · Performance:
Mobile Site-Wide Features & Elements
19 Guidelines · Performance:
Like Rakuten, all 63 major e-commerce sites have been benchmarked across hundreds of guidelines, meaning the chart you’re seeing above summarizes 30,000+ usability ratings.
See methodology to read up on the evaluation criteria and scoring algorithm.
To read each guideline and review your own sites, you’ll need to get full access.
Rakuten’s Desktop E-Commerce Design
28 pages of Rakuten’s e-commerce site, marked up with 286 best practice examples:
Homepage & Category
Homepage
Homepage & Category
Drop-Down Menu
Homepage & Category
Top-Level Navigation, Intermediary Category Page
On-Site Search
Search Field
On-Site Search
Autocomplete Suggestions
On-Site Search
Search Results Page
On-Site Search
No Results Page
Product Lists & Filtering
Product List: Category
Product Lists & Filtering
Product List: Search
Product Lists & Filtering
Sorting Tool
Product Page
Product Page
Product Page
Product Page
Product Page
User Reviews Section
Product Page
Spec Sheet
Cart & Checkout
Cart
Cart & Checkout
Account
Cart & Checkout
Shipping Address
Cart & Checkout
Address Validator
Cart & Checkout
Billing Address, Payment
Cart & Checkout
Order Review
Cart & Checkout
Order Confirmation
Accounts & Self-Service
'My Account' Drop-Down
Accounts & Self-Service
Account Dashboard
Accounts & Self-Service
Address Book
Accounts & Self-Service
Stored Credit Cards
Accounts & Self-Service
Newsletter Management
Accounts & Self-Service
Orders Overview
Accounts & Self-Service
Order Tracking Page
Rakuten’s Mobile E-Commerce Design
17 pages of Rakuten’s e-commerce site, marked up with 151 best practice examples:
Mobile E-Commerce
Homepage
Mobile E-Commerce
Navigation Menu
Mobile E-Commerce
Navigation Menu
Mobile E-Commerce
Navigation Menu
Mobile E-Commerce
Category Page
Mobile E-Commerce
Search Field
Mobile E-Commerce
Search Autocomplete
Mobile E-Commerce
Search Results
Mobile E-Commerce
Product List
Mobile E-Commerce
Product Page
Mobile E-Commerce
Cart
Mobile E-Commerce
Checkout Account Selection
Mobile E-Commerce
Shipping Address, Shipping Method
Mobile E-Commerce
Payment Method
Mobile E-Commerce
Payment Method
Mobile E-Commerce
Review Order
Mobile E-Commerce
Order Confirmation
Explore Other Research Content
Every 2nd week, we publish a new article on how to build “state of the art” e-commerce experiences — here’s 5 popular ones:
Drop-Down Usability: When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Them
Format the ‘Expiration Date’ Fields Exactly the Same as the Physical Credit Card (90% Get It Wrong)
PDP UX: Core Product Content Is Overlooked in ‘Horizontal Tabs’ Layouts (Yet 28% of Sites Have This Layout)
Form Field Usability: Avoid Multi-Column Layouts (13% Get It Wrong)
Form Usability: Getting ‘Address Line 2’ Right
See all 275 articles in the full public archive.