Rakuten.com Shopping has revealed the finalists for the 2013 Shop of the Year Awards. The winners will be announced at Rakuten Expo West 2014 being held on February 5th at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. The event brings together Rakuten.com's merchants, expert speakers and e-commerce vendors as well as Rakuten.com's team members and executive management for an update on Rakuten.com's strategy, industry information, training sessions and one-on-one consultation.

Each year, the Shop of the Year Awards recognize the Rakuten.com marketplace's most successful and pioneering merchants in several categories as well as two standout products of the year. The awards are based on sales volume and internal performance metrics. To be eligible for an award, merchants must also have stellar operational metrics including high feedback ratings and a low order cancellation rate.

The Rakuten.com SOY Award Finalists include:

  • Shop of the Year: Click Go and Buy, Altatac, Beach Camera, Datavis, Adorama Camera
  • Best New Merchant (Electronics): PowerDeals, ATD Computer Solutions, DealFisher, Blueeyeelectronics, CoolGadget
  • Best New Merchant (Non-Technology): Vacuum-Direct, DB Electrical, USA Retail Store, Buy It Natural, Fintie Store
  • Best in Customer Satisfaction: LD Products, BuslinkBuy, Vacuum-Direct, Market Warehouse, Ashford
  • Best in Marketing: US Micro Corp, Mail-direct, DrHotDeal, Altatac, Mambate
  • Best in Electronics: Adorama Camera, Click Go and Buy, Beach Camera, Datavis, ANTOnline
  • Best in Home & Outdoor: aSavings, Factory Direct Prices, CPO Outlets, DealYard, BestChoiceProducts
  • Best in Fashion, Health & Beauty: VapoBuy, Factory Direct Wholesale, Beauty Encounter, eBags, Vaporizer King
  • Best in Hobbies & Specialty: Reds Gear, BabyAge, Altatac, DealGenius, Books2Anywhere
  • Always Improve, Always Advance: ZeeMo Digital, Go4computers Corp, eBags, VapoBuy, Altatac
  • Product of the Year in Electronics & Non-Technology: No Finalists Announced

Finalists will be recognized at Rakuten Expo West 2014 and one winner per category will be presented with a Shop of the Year Icon Award. All winners will be displayed on Rakuten.com, featured in a Rakuten.com newsletter, and given increased marketing space.

In addition to the Shop of the Year Awards, Rakuten Expo West 2014 offers merchants a chance to meet in-person for a full day of information, education and discussion about how to work together to maximize growth on the Rakuten.com Shopping Marketplace.

"Rakuten offers a number of features to its merchants including training on how to optimize the online channel for sales and insights provided by our e-commerce consultants (ECCs) so that merchants have all the information and tools they need to stay at the forefront of e-commerce," said Bernard Luthi, CMO and COO of Rakuten.com Shopping. "This is an important aspect of the Rakuten "omotenashi" model of superior service and hospitality: ensuring that technology is always supported by human contact and interaction."

Rakuten Expo also features an impressive guest speaker line-up including Vanessa Fox, author of Marketing in the Age of Google: Your Online Strategy IS Your Business Strategy; Sarah Quinlan, Group Head and Senior Vice President at MasterCard Advisors; and Adam Silverman, Principal Analyst serving e-business and channel strategy professionals at Forrester.

Rakuten Expo West 2014 will close with a networking and appreciation cocktail reception.

About Rakuten.com Shopping

Rakuten.com Shopping is a global e-commerce site that connects buyers and sellers in a dynamic marketplace and thinks of shopping as entertainment--complete with sharing and discovery functions, great prices, fun experiences and convenience for 18 million customers. Rakuten.com Shopping provides over 17 million products in 24 categories and includes a network of over 6,700 small and large business shop owners. Its 175 employees are headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. Rakuten.com Shopping was founded as Buy.com in 1997 and acquired by Rakuten Inc. in May 2010. Rakuten Inc. was selected by Forbes as one of the top ten Most Innovative Companies worldwide in both 2012 and 2013.

About Rakuten

Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4755), is one of the world's leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer- and business-focused services including e-commerce, e-reading, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Selected by Forbes as 7th among the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2012, Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe, and the Americas. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 employees worldwide. For more information, visit http://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

Rakuten.com Shopping
Anne Thomas, 949-389-2118
anne.thomas@mail.rakuten.com
or
Hotwire PR
Marquise McCoy, 646-790-4755
marquise.mccoy@hotwirepr.com