Why a Japanese Retailer Bought Viber

Today, Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten announced that it had acquired the messaging app, Viber, for $900 million. While this may seem like an unusual fit, this quote from the Rakuten’s CEO explains it all.

This is a no-brainer. Messaging apps are taking over the world and, while search is one of the strongest platforms, what is happening in communications is very, very important. We have content and games and commerce and markets and services, but they need the ability to reach out and talk to customers wherever they are. With this, we can make buying more secure, but also more human. Today, to survive, I think you have to have a messaging app, because that is where consumers are active. 

The last line of the quote is really the key to understanding this acquisition.

The rise of smart mobile devices has precipitated a shift from competition between categories to competition between user contexts. The resulting business models separate value creation from monetization and have created the paradigm of inter-industry competition. For example, WeChat, a free messaging service monetizes by becoming a distribution platform (e-commerce). As a result, it is on the path to disrupt both paid messaging (SMS) and standalone e-commerce companies.

Rakuten seems to have caught this trend fairly early and is attempting to use Viber to implement a similar asymmetric business model to boost its e-commerce business.