Rakuten leads Japan's point ecosystem usage survey

A survey conducted by MMD Institute reveals that Rakuten Points is the most widely used common point system in Japan, with 58.8% of respondents utilizing them. Over 62% of participants reported being conscious of “point ecosystems,” where a single company links various services such as telecommunications, payments, and finance through a unified account.

Other major point systems identified in the study include PayPay Points (41.7%), V Points (41.1%), d Point (40.4%), and Ponta Points (38.4%). When asked for their primary point system, Rakuten Points led with 31.8%, followed by d Point (15.5%) and PayPay Points (14.9%).

The research highlights that user engagement is often driven by a company's core strength: Rakuten users are drawn in by e-commerce sites, while Docomo and au users are primarily connected through mobile telecommunications, and PayPay users through QR and barcode payments.