[Seminar Report] Over 100 Gathered on the Eve of Rakuten's New Year Conference! What Were the Latest Strategies Discussed at 'EC Masters Grand New Year Party 2026'?

On Thursday, January 29, 2026, Japan EC Service Corporation (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / Representative: Shohei Shimizu) held the 'EC Masters Grand New Year Party 2026' in Shinagawa. Taking place on the perfect timing of the day before the Rakuten New Year Conference, the event welcomed over 100 EC operators and the venue was filled with enthusiasm from start to finish.

Event Report How to fight in the 2026 EC market. Speakers at the forefront of the industry shared their real-life case studies and the latest know-how, making it a day full of actionable tips that could be put into practice right away.

In the first session introducing member case studies, Mr. Yugo Shimamura, Director of Shimamura Co., Ltd., took the stage. He revealed the trajectory of launching their EC business from a state of insolvency to growing it to account for 90% of the company's total sales over 10 years. Their monthly sales on Rakuten Ichiba expanded from 700,000 yen to 15.8 million yen. During the lecture, specific improvement measures to stabilize the conversion rate (CVR) in the double digits and the importance of accumulating small daily improvements were introduced, with participants commenting that it provided hints for solving their own company's challenges.

In the following second session, Mr. Kihwi Kim, CTO of Fliption, Inc., took the stage. He introduced the latest virtual fitting utilization methods capable of producing model content with 'zero photoshoots.' The venue echoed with voices of surprise at the real examples of content production utilizing generative AI. It attracted the interest of many participants as a new option to simultaneously achieve cost reduction and improved production speed.