[2026] Rakuten Shopping Marathon 09/05 – 16/05: Tips to grab deals and optimize points when shopping on Rakuten

Rakuten Shopping Marathon in May is about to start

Rakuten has just announced a new Shopping Marathon running from:

09/05 20:00 → 16/05 01:59

This is one of the biggest and most popular campaigns on Rakuten, with the following mechanism:

• buy from as many different shops as possible

• the more shops you use, the higher the points you get back

And this time, Rakuten is also putting extra focus on:

• food items

• everyday essentials

• household items

So it’s a great chance to stock up on everything you’ll need this month.

What is Rakuten Shopping Marathon?

The most distinctive feature of the Rakuten Marathon is the system:

買いまわり (buy-around)

In simple terms, it means:

• shop at multiple different stores

• each store spends 1,000 yen or more

• you’ll receive additional bonus points

For example:

• buy from 2 shops → +2倍

• buy from 5 shops → +5倍

• buy from 10 shops → up to +10倍

And if you combine it with:

• Rakuten Card

• point-up campaigns

• coupons

• SPU

the points you get back can be quite substantial.

Don’t forget to enter before you pay

One thing that many people overlook is that you have to “entry” the campaign before you checkout.

If you don’t enter, you may not get the bonus points even if you meet the spending requirements.

This is Rakuten’s event page for this Marathon—here you can also find the エントリー (entry) button.

I usually check this page before buying to see:

• what coupons are available

• how much the point boost is

• whether there are any extra campaigns that stack more points

A useful tip: bundle your orders instead of buying one by one

If you already know you’ll need to buy a lot of items during the month, you’ll often get better results if you:

• add items to your wishlist first

• wait for the Marathon

• then purchase everything within the same campaign

For example:

• vitamins

• coffee

• kitchen items

• household goods

• phone accessories

Buying everything in one go usually helps you optimize points much better.

Coupons are just as important

Besides bonus points, Rakuten also often offers:

• storewide coupons

• coupons specific to individual shops

• flash coupons

• limited-time discounts

Sometimes, the coupon discount right off the price can be better than points.

I usually:

1. add items to the cart first

2. check which coupons are available

3. then proceed to checkout

to make sure I don’t forget to claim the coupons.

Conclusion

Rakuten Shopping Marathon isn’t the kind of ultra-deep discount sale like Black Friday, but if you live in Japan long-term, it’s one of the more effective ways to save money on online shopping.

Especially if:

• you already use Rakuten Points

• you have a Rakuten Card

• you buy necessities regularly

then using the Marathon consistently can pay off a lot in the long run 😄