Japan-based general marketplace operator Jimoty Inc. saw its sales drop year over year during the third quarter of 2023 due to temporarily weak ad market and lower performance fees particularly in the used-car category.
In Q3 2023, sales were recorded at JPY413 million ($2.7 million U.S.), compared to JPY440 million in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
However, the company noted rapidly improving product growth rate due to new strategies with the number of posts and inquiries having changed rapidly.
Jimoty expects an explosive growth in the number of users for categories related to daily use, particularly children’s products and clothing.
Jimoty slashed the ad spending by half from JPY46 million in Q3 2022 to JPY20 million in Q3 2023 as it conducted only a small-scale test marketing with commercial and campaigns.
However, the cost optimization was challenged by increase in cost of sales, administrative expenses and personnel cost, reflecting in slower growth of operating profit from JPY142 million to JPY148 million ($980,404).
Founded in 2011, Jimoty operates Jmty.jp to list goods and services in multiple categories. The company last year launched a hyperlocal job matching service that is trending smoothly and expected to become one of the revenue avenues from next fiscal year onwards.
Read full results here (in Japanese).