You can now buy your favorite Line-themed merchandise in the app

Japan’s ubiquitous messaging app Line has spent much of 2015 trying to become more than just a messenger. It announced a host of new in-app services – including payments, ride hailing, and grocery delivery – late last year; it even named a new CEO to facilitate the WeChat-esque platform play. The company has also added music streaming, news aggregation, restaurant reservations, and more to its in-app offerings.

Earlier this week, Tech in Asia noticed a new icon on the app’s menu screen: Line Friends, an in-app ecommerce outlet for Line’s character-branded merchandise.

Line Friends store at bottom right.

The company already operates brick-and-mortar Line Friends stores in Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as an online store in Korea. But the new in-app store will provide the same branded merchandise (and some online-only exclusives) to users across Japan – and in other key Asian markets next year – without having to travel all the way to a physical shop.

A Line spokesperson tells Tech in Asia that the new service was soft-launched in Japan last month, with the only announcement coming from Line’s Japanese language blog and messages sent to those who follow Line’s official account. The store was included in a recent app update.

“The Line Friends shop in Taiwan can be found within Line Mart,” the spokesperson adds. “[The service] is still in a very early stage and we hope to announce more rollouts in 2016.”

Users in Japan can find a variety of goods featuring Brown, Cony, Moon, James, and others. Item categories include stationery, hobby/toy, living, fashion, accessory, mobile, kids, Japan only, collaboration, and other. Some standout offerings include limited edition Line x Moleskine notebooks, Brown and Cony plushes dressed like santa, Lamy pens, and even Swarovski crystal jewelry.

Shipping for most items appears to be a fixed at JPY 540 (US$4.40), a bit pricey if you only end up buying one JPY 900 (US$7.40) desktop figurine. The only payment option, of course, is Line Pay.

As Line struggles to add new users, especially in the face of regional competitors and Facebook’s encroaching Messenger (which also has platform asipirations), extending the availability of its popular branded goods is a smart move to generate some quick revenue.

This author has personally visited the Line Friends store in Harajuku, which opened in December 2014, and it’s still packed with (mostly) Asian tourists every weekend. Still, even the cutest of desktop figurines and seat cushions won’t matter much if Line can’t add new users and expand its influence abroad.