LINE Pay is similar to Paypay (by Yahoo! JAPAN & SoftBank) and R Pay (by Rakuten) as they are all barcode-based. Japan, who has traditionally been a cash-based society, now has several cashless payment options in the market. This is the in-app news feed showcasing the latest news, ranging from current events to sports and entertainment. Moreover, it’s a great way for companies to promote their brand by making their own brand and character stickers available for free. Animated and sound stickers of famous characters and celebrities are what we believe to be the reason behind LINE’s popularity. Though they have a series of their own LINE character stickers, creators can also share their original stickers for free or sell them for LINE coins, which is a currency used in the app for users to purchase stickers and themes. As you can imagine, the app gained massive popularity in a nation that loves anime and emojis. What makes LINE different from other messenger apps is its famous stickers. Later that year, LINE was opened to the public and within 18 months had more than 100 million users 2.
The result was an app that used internet-based connections and not the usual telecommunications infrastructure destroyed by the earthquake. It is now considered a super app, but did you know that it first started as a disaster response app during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami? Owned by Korean search engine giant Naver, it developed a communications system for their Japanese staff during the disaster. LINE is widely used, not only in Japan, but also in Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia with over 165 million MAU worldwide 1. Unlike WhatsApp, its Western counterpart, LINE is a super app with advertising opportunities for businesses wanting to promote their product or service in Japan. There are several reasons behind its success, including its unique animated stickers and other integrated services. For those not familiar with the Japanese market, LINE is the no.1 messenger app in Japan with over 84 million Japanese users 1.
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