Strengthening Targeting, Online Reservations and Multifaceted Services

「The number of restaurants supporting online reservations increased to 36,463, up 4.4% year on year, and the foundation of demand and supply for the media service expanded steadily.」

「As a result, the number of stock-based paying member restaurants at the end of the fiscal year was 33,881, up 1.2% from the end of the previous fiscal year, while the number of restaurants supporting online reservations was 36,000, up 4.2%. Both shifted to an increasing trend.」

「In cooperation with Rakuten Card Co., Ltd., the company decided to begin integrating the “Rakuten Card Premium Program,” through which Rakuten Card provides members with various benefits, with the “Organizer Rank Program,” the loyalty program for Rakuten Gurunavi users, from October. It also conducted a points-awarding campaign to commemorate the integration.」

「As part of this initiative, the company established the “Organizer Rank Program” in November 2024, a loyalty program for Rakuten members that enables them to enjoy dining out at greater value the more often they use it and the larger the groups they organize.」

「First, as part of strengthening Rakuten Gurunavi, the company launched the “Organizer Support Project” to encourage repeat reservations by members linked to Rakuten IDs and stimulate demand for parties sought by many restaurants serving alcoholic beverages.」

「In its existing restaurant-support, promotion and store-development businesses, the company aims to build a stable earnings base that supports the group as a whole through steady revenue growth and efficient business operations」

「With the aim of increasing recognition of the website as a restaurant reservation service where users can earn Rakuten Points, increasing website usage and improving its ability to direct customers to participating restaurants, the company changed the name of the restaurant information website “Gurunavi” to “Rakuten Gurunavi” effective 2 October.」

「As part of the transformation of the Gurunavi website, the company decided to change the name of the restaurant information website “Gurunavi” to “Rakuten Gurunavi” effective 2 October, with the aim of increasing recognition of it as a restaurant reservation website where users can earn Rakuten Points, increasing website usage and improving its ability to direct customers to participating restaurants.」

「In the restaurant promotion support area, the company launched a campaign in June using Rakuten Points and coupons available for online reservations as incentives to increase customer referrals to restaurants.」

「To make the Gurunavi website the online reservation media platform offering Rakuten members the greatest benefits and convenience, the company will expand content and functions that encourage more Rakuten members to repeatedly search for and reserve restaurants through its website.」

「In the promotional support area of its initiatives to restore and achieve renewed growth in its core restaurant-support business, the company strengthened proposals encouraging existing participating restaurants to upgrade to plans with greater customer-acquisition effects. It also held a “Year-End and New Year’s Party Campaign” from October to increase customer referrals to participating restaurants, awarding campaign points and distributing coupons for use when making online reservations.」

「First, to strengthen customer referrals to restaurants through online reservations, the company continued improving its UI and UX and newly launched “Gurunavi Online Reservation Coupons” in January 2022. Through these initiatives, the number of members linked to Rakuten IDs, its user base, had increased to 5.54 million as of the end of March 2022.」

「To help consumers choose restaurants with greater peace of mind and safety, the company displayed the status of COVID-19 countermeasures on restaurant pages in July and added a search filter for restaurants implementing such measures in September. In December, it began a pilot project for “Restaurant LIVE Camera,” a service that visualizes restaurant congestion and provides real-time updates. It is also continuously improving search and reservation navigation within the website to enhance the convenience of the Gurunavi website.」

「During the second quarter, the company began integrating in July with “Rakuten Real-Time Takeout,” Rakuten’s prepaid, pre-order takeout service, to support restaurants in generating takeout sales, for which demand increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also launched a new service plan combining support needed by restaurants during the pandemic, including more efficient customer and seat management and effective information dissemination. To improve the convenience of search functions and restaurant pages on the Gurunavi website, it displayed restaurants’ COVID-19 countermeasures on their pages in July and added a search filter for restaurants implementing such measures in September.」

「Sales showed signs of recovery as online reservations increased, helped by participating restaurants beginning to return from suspended status in June, the resumption of growth in the number of members linked to Rakuten IDs, and an improved conversion rate through website enhancements, among other factors.」

「The company has set the conversion rate (CVR), the percentage of users who ultimately make an online reservation, as one of its KPIs. It is seeking to improve the CVR by making the user interface (UI) easier to use, offering points in response to consumer needs, expanding the number of participating restaurants that support immediate reservations, and increasing traffic to its website through its partnership with Rakuten.」

「The company has set the conversion rate (CVR), the percentage of users who ultimately make an online reservation, as one of its KPIs. It is seeking to improve the CVR by making the user interface (UI) easier to use, offering points in response to consumer needs, expanding the number of participating restaurants that support immediate reservations, and increasing traffic to its website through its partnership with Rakuten.」

「For online reservations, which consumers have increasingly used in recent years, the company will improve user convenience through UI improvements and expanded seat inventory, while increasing the efficiency of restaurants’ reservation management through its reservation ledger, with the aim of creating a reservation platform that is easy for both consumers and restaurants to use.」

「To restore performance and achieve renewed growth, the company will focus this fiscal year on restoring its ability to direct customers to restaurants by improving the convenience of online reservations and encouraging their use.」

「In addition to expanding restaurant search and reservation functions in the Gurunavi app, the company worked to establish a system for providing consumers with broad access through various external services, including Google, Instagram and SmartNews, to information on restaurant menus and seat availability. To help restaurants manage diverse customer-acquisition activities efficiently, it also expanded the functions of “Gurunavi Daicho,” which provides reservation and customer management functions, and launched an outsourcing service that manages restaurant pages on Gurunavi, external media and advertising, and telephone and online reservation acceptance and management on behalf of restaurants.」

「The company is also working to establish a system for providing consumers with broad access, through various external services, to its accurate and timely information on restaurant characteristics and seat availability. Specifically, it enabled restaurant searches and reservations through voice interaction and other functions via external services, began integrating reservation functions with Instagram in October and providing reservation inventory information to “Reserve with Google,” and in December launched push advertising products featuring information on participating restaurants on the “SmartNews” news app through a partnership with SmartNews, Inc.」

「Specifically, the company joined NTT DOCOMO’s AI agent service “my daiz™ (My daiz)” in May and launched a service using Google Assistant in June, enabling users to search for and reserve restaurants through voice interaction and other functions. It also prepared for the integration of reservation functions with Instagram, which began in October.」

「Specifically, the company joined NTT DOCOMO’s AI agent service “my daiz™ (My daiz)” in May and launched a service using Google Assistant in June, enabling users to search for and reserve restaurants through voice interaction and other functions. It also launched a service that manages SNS accounts and web advertising on behalf of restaurants. In addition, the company has been strengthening its partnership with Rakuten Co., Ltd. in the food-service sector. Following the launch in the previous fiscal year of a points exchange program, it agreed in May to a business partnership relating to “Rakoo,” the gourmet information website operated by Rakuten.」

「As part of its strengthened promotional support, the company began helping restaurants capture corporate demand, including entertainment bookings, through the Gurunavi Corporate Reservation Service. It also established a system enabling restaurants to confidently accept reservations from major websites in China and Taiwan through a prepaid reservation service for visitors to Japan.」

「In the restaurant support business, to strengthen promotional support, we launched Gurunavi Corporate Reservation Service in October to help restaurants attract corporate demand, including demand for entertaining guests. In November, we upgraded Gurunavi Foreign Language Version to make it easier to use, and also expanded the services and user base by newly partnering with major websites in China and Taiwan for prepaid reservations for visitors to Japan.」

「During the six-month period ended with the second quarter of the current fiscal year, spot-based revenue performed steadily against a backdrop of increased online reservations. However, subscription-based services declined because contracted amounts, particularly among major clients, were reduced substantially amid worsening labor shortages and orders remained weak. As a result, revenue was ¥17,560 million, down 1.0% year on year.」

「Although spot-based services performed steadily against a backdrop of increased online reservations, subscription-based services declined slightly as major clients in particular increasingly reduced their contracted amounts amid uncertainty over the economic outlook and labor shortages. As a result, revenue from restaurant promotion services increased only slightly.」

「In its ongoing support for restaurant promotion, the company will seek to further expand its user base and increase its ability to direct customers to restaurants by integrating with other media and expanding functions and listing information in line with user needs. Specific initiatives include improving customer referrals through integration between the Gurunavi foreign-language version and overseas travel websites, and developing online reservation functions to support the attraction and acceptance of the increasing number of visitors to Japan. The company is also developing an online reservation service to capture the growing demand for corporate entertainment.」

「In August, the company also revamped its online reservation function, improving the convenience of plan registration and reservation management, and continued strengthening support for restaurant promotion and operations.」

「On 22 June, the company also began integrating its services with TripAdvisor, one of the world’s largest travel websites, creating a system for providing its services to more travelers worldwide and directing them to restaurants. On 29 August, it revamped its online reservation function to make plan registration and reservation management more convenient, and continued strengthening support for restaurant promotion and operations.」

「Driven by strong growth in revenue from restaurant promotion services, supported by the increased value of the company’s Gurunavi website as a media platform through the expanded use of its online reservation system, revenue was ¥8,763 million, up 8.5% year on year.」

「To strengthen promotional support, we are working to improve the accuracy of promotional products, including targeted products, that match restaurants’ characteristics with user needs, and to improve the convenience of our web reservation system. We are also focusing on providing multilingual restaurant information through Gurunavi Foreign Language Version and LIVE JAPAN to help restaurants attract the growing number of visitors to Japan expected in the future.」