Unicorn startup Mercari is Japan's most popular resale app

According to an online survey conducted by MMD Labo, the most popular online marketplace app for secondhand goods in Japan is the unicorn startup Mercari. The survey revealed that over 74 percent of Japanese smartphone owners relied on the peer-to-peer re-commerce app to shop or sell used goods in 2017.

Mercari, Inc. became the first Japanese startup to be valued at 1 billion U.S dollars. On their Tokyo Stock exchange debut on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 the company’s shares surged 77 percent, valuing Mercari at approximately 7.4 billion U.S. dollars. The C2C flea market app, which recorded 71 million downloads and 10.5 million active users in its home country Japan, is now looking to push further into the U.S. and European markets.