GMO Payment Gateway payment processing services Supporting Over 16 Million Member payment

Adastria Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Adastria") is a SPA (manufacturing and retail) company based in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, focusing on casual fashion. The fashion e-commerce store operated by the company ". ST has been a payment partner since 2017, and has adopted PG Multi-Payment Service of GMO Payment Gateway, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as GMO-PG). We talked to the person in charge about payment processing services to realize e-commerce site management from the user's point of view.
*.ST will change its name to and ST from October 2024. The following company names, titles, service names, etc. in this article are as of September 2023.

SPA Adastria has an e-commerce site with over 16 million members

Adastria is an SPA company that operates brands such as GLOBAL WORK, NICO &, and LOWRYS FARM. With over 30 in-house brands in the fashion and lifestyle sectors, the company celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023 with the mission of "Play fashion!"

Adastria's strength is that it can handle everything from brand development to sales within the group.
As a sales platform, we operate our own EC site .st,
The number of members is approximately 16 million as of the end of May 2023.
There are more than 55 brands available on the site, and in May 2021, a physical store "Dot Estée Store" linked to this site was opened.

Consider adding payment method to meet diverse customer needs

Adastria adopted GMO-PG as a payment processing services in 2017.
.st (dot est) originally supported direct contract and direct connection with each payment company when purchasing. However, in renewing the e-commerce site, considering the diversification of customer purchasing methods and needs due to the changing times, we began to consider introducing payment processing services. While comparing multiple companies, GMO-PG was also on the list.

Marketing Division Senior Manager Yumiko Honda

"Actually, a few years before considering payment processing services, we received various suggestions from the GMO-PG person at the time.
What we place special emphasis on at the service adoption stage is "people".
Of course, the service you introduce is important, but it can be said that the most important thing is whether you trust and trust the other party in the final development of your business.
We decided that the response and personality of each sales representative were the most reliable, so we decided on GMO-PG," says Yumiko Honda, senior manager of the Marketing Division.

Adastria has adopted GMO-PG's Online Payment Service" PG Multi-Payment Service" as its payment platform, while maintaining direct contract with each payment company.
PG Multi-Payment Service connects with each payment company.

"It's been about five and a half years since we hired in 2017, and I can still say with confidence that it was the right decision to introduce PG Multi-Payment Service as a "people".​​

"Thank you for your kind words. We continue to make various proposals to contribute to improving the sales of ST. In addition, there is a wide range of items to be written in various application forms and other documents, so we contact them frequently," says Sawako Tanaka, sales manager of GMO-PG.

GMO-PG Sawako Tanaka

Adopting OpenAPI types for future payment method expansion

In 2022, Adastria decided to add d Payment payment to the .st (dot est) payment method.

"Originally, .st (dot est) was linked to d points, but since there were many docomo users among the purchasers, we decided to add d Payment payment."

"When I consulted with Mr. Tanaka of GMO-PG about adding d Payment payment,
PG Multi-Payment Service proposed a new connection method, OpenAPI type.
My honest impression when I first received the proposal was, "If I was planning such a good thing, I wanted it to be made as soon as possible." I felt that it was so beneficial.

The disadvantage of adding payment method to an e-commerce site is the complexity of development man-hours and management.
When you talk about OpenAPI types that can overcome the challenges of adding traditional payment method,
I felt that I had no choice but to introduce it immediately, so I decided to adopt it."

PG Multi-Payment Service can connect to more than 30 different payment method.
We offer multiple connection methods through e-commerce sites and payment methods.
A new connection method released in the major PG Multi-Payment Service update in May 2023 is the OpenAPI type.
Actual covers 12 types of payment method with high needs,
This connection method actively adopts OpenAPI, which is a global standard API specification.

Until now, all payment method, which had to be developed individually, were grouped into three types: credit card payment, "Pay payment", and "cash payment".
The latest references are always published on the web,
Engineers don't need to memorize their own APIs for each payment processing services or payment method,
Something that can be easily handled if you understand OpenAPI.
In the addition of payment method after the initial development of each API group,
This connection method enables a significant reduction in development man-hours and time.

In the development of the OpenAPI type in this d Payment payment, Mr. Tadashi Kayaba, who serves as the manager of the DX Strategy Department, also participated.
"At the beginning of the proposal, the connection method was still in the conceptual stage, and we decided to adopt the OpenAPI type for our d Payment payment addition, and we entered this project when the release date was set. We exchanged many times and proceeded with development according to the release."

DX Strategy Department Manager Tadashi Kayaba

OpenAPI type, a new connection method that allows you to obtain the benefits of adding payment method on e-commerce sites with less man-hours than before. It is said that the enrichment of payment method by OpenAPI type includes the possibility of acquiring new customers in the future.

"With a view to increasing sales and expanding users, payment method is a very high priority for e-commerce sites. Because payment method is diversifying in today's world, site design and payment method additions that meet customer needs should be handled appropriately. That's why I feel that the existence of OpenAPI types, which can add payment method with a small amount of man-hours, will greatly contribute to acquiring new customers in the future."

Problems "0" even after operation with detailed support

Introduced in June 2023 d Payment payment in the OpenAPI type has been running without any problems even after its release, and Mr. Kayaba also appreciates it.

"It takes about 2 to 3 months from the implementation of the system to the start of operation.While working in parallel with my daily work, the engineer who was actually in charge of development had no experience using OpenAPI, so I incurred the same learning costs as other developments, but I was able to proceed with a sense of speed than I expected.
The newly introduced d Payment payment has zero problems since it started operation. It's really great that any service often has some kind of trouble after starting, but it hasn't happened at all."

GMO-PG's Tanaka looked back on the time when development was underway at Adastria in parallel with the company's OpenAPI type development and updates.

"Since they were involved in the development before the release, I think there were many difficulties for Adastria and engineers, such as overlapping changes at a short time. Now that the release has been released, the API reference has also been published and easy to use, so it is possible to significantly reduce man-hours when adding payment method next time I think so."

It is said that the reason why they were able to overcome the process from implementation to operation with peace of mind was also due to the presence of GMO-PG support.

"At the time of this operation, Mr. Tanaka and other GMO-PG responded promptly to detailed communications such as questions and consultations on operation methods, which was very reassuring. Basically, we communicate by email or phone, but if necessary, they set up a web conference and explain it, and it seems to be our exclusive partner.
The biggest advantage of OpenAPI types is the low barrier to adding payment method next time and beyond. We are looking forward to adding more payment method in the future." (Mr. Kayaba)

Currently, the introduction of "EMV 3-D Secure (3D Secure 2.0)" is mandatory as a measure against credit card fraud on e-commerce sites, and it is required to respond by March 2025. The EMV 3-D Secure mechanism determines the risk level based on the buyer's information when purchasing a product, and if necessary, performs identity authentication by entering a password, etc. This is a measure to reduce the risk of trading with fraud.

Adastria believes that fraud measures are essential and has been working on the implementation of EMV 3-D Secure since June 2022 ahead of the blockage of 3D Secure 1.0, which was originally introduced.

"When I heard from Mr. Tanaka about the blockage of 1.0, I immediately decided to introduce EMV 3-D Secure.
EMV 3-D Secure not only provides security benefits to fraud, but also
It is also good that the usability that leads to the cart drop of password authentication every time, which was considered a disadvantage of 1.0, has been improved.It is possible that the frictionless flow that allows customers to complete the purchase without being asked for a password can reduce customer churn at the time of purchase.
Combined with the synergy effect with other initiatives, the result was that credit card sales improved at the same time.
I also feel that chargeback 's exemption is​ ​a great advantage for us e-commerce site operators in operating e-commerce sites. I am still consulting with Mr. Tanaka about security measures on an ongoing basis."

What GMO-PG can help you do to realize e-commerce that continues to be loved

Regarding the d Payment payment added this time, it is said that .st (dot est) members have said that it has become more convenient.

"If the number of payment method increases, it will lead to improved convenience for .st (dot est) members. In response to this evaluation, we would like to consider adding new payment method that can be expected to have effects such as new acquisitions, CV improvements, and cart abandonment prevention.
I would like to continue consulting with GMO-PG and create a website that is convenient for our customers."

payment More ways to make your site more convenient and more user-friendly, the more end-users will visit, including new customers. In the future, Mr. Honda says he would like to increase the number of payment method and reach out to young people as well.

"Our ideal form of e-commerce site is to be a place where people can continue to choose brands within Adastria even if their hobbies and tastes change little by little, and will continue to be loved for many years.
We would like to aim for a site that can be used by a wide range of generations, including men and women of all ages, as well as to enhance the payment method and appeal more to the younger generation."

Mr. Honda aims to realize an e-commerce site that can be loved by more people. Finally, we asked about the future prospects.

"In the future, we d Payment payment would like to focus on collecting and analyzing data such as usage rates, new customer acquisition, and annual usage times to understand the changes and current situation after the introduction payment method I want to have a positive discussion about it."

Mr. Kayaba also has high hopes for GMO-PG from the communication so far. "We are looking forward to continuously adding payment method and introducing the latest security and useful solutions, and I would like to continue to exchange information with Mr. Tanaka, who is in charge, while receiving a wide range of proposals."

(From left)Adastria Kayaba, Honda, GMO-PG Tanaka