Rakuten

The business model centres on performance-based affiliate marketing and partnership services. On the consumer side, the platform aggregates offers from thousands of merchants and routes shoppers to merchant sites via tracked referral links, browser extensions and mobile apps. Merchants pay the company commissions or referral fees for sales driven through these channels. A share of these commissions is paid out to consumers as cash back, building audience scale and transaction volume that in turn increases merchant value. On the B2B side, the company operates an affiliate and partnership network, selling performance marketing and programme management services to brands, retailers and agencies. Value is created by providing merchants with incremental sales and measurable performance, while offering consumers cash rewards and discounts that encourage them to transact through partner merchants. Historically, the U.S. marketplace at rakuten.com/shop also generated revenue from seller fees and commissions, but that marketplace has been shuttered.

Rakuten.com is the consumer-facing domain for Rakuten’s United States cash-back and shopping rewards business, operated under the Rakuten Rewards model. The platform directs users to third-party retailers via tracked affiliate links on the website, mobile app, and browser extension, then shares a portion of the affiliate commissions it receives with users as cash back. The former U.S. e-commerce marketplace at rakuten.com/shop ceased taking orders in 2020, leaving the primary activity at this domain as cash-back and rewards, plus a lead-in to Rakuten’s advertising and partnership services for brands. Rakuten’s direct paying customers are merchants, brands and agencies that use its affiliate and partnership network for performance marketing, traffic acquisition and sales generation. These business clients pay affiliate commissions and related performance marketing or management fees, while consumers use the cash-back services for free and are paid rewards funded by merchant commissions.