What is special about the Japanese consumer community?What are their unique spending habits?What are the preferences for product design and packaging?What kind of product text descriptions and image displays would impress them?Next, let Amazon Global Store bring you detailed Japanese consumer insights. Don't miss out on the list!

Japan has one of the fastest aging trends in the world. By 2019, the population aged 65 and over had accounted for nearly 30% of the country's population8. More and more elderly Japanese people prefer online shopping, and they also have a good “hardware foundation.” According to the survey, more than 50% [9] of Japanese elderly people aged 60-69 use computers, and 74% [10] use smartphones. They are a new consumer group that cannot be ignored.

In Japan, many elderly people “retire” and continue to struggle — especially jobs as taxi drivers, waiters, or service industries, are the choices of the elderly. These elderly people, who have both a pension and income from work, have formed a unique consumer market for the elderly in Japan. I learned from the Mitsubishi Research Institute through an online targeted survey report of 30,000 people — the proportion of elderly people who choose “if it's a product that suits them, they will buy the more expensive one” is far higher than that of young people. Compared to price, the concept of selfishness has become the dominant consumption concept for the elderly. In addition to massage appliances, high-quality branded home appliances and products such as golf clubs and fishing rods for daily entertainment and leisure are also particularly popular among the elderly.

The proportion of people living alone in Japan is also very high. By 2019, this population had reached 40% [11], far exceeding China's 16%. In Tokyo alone, 47.3% of 12 families live alone — students, office workers, etc. But they have a common need, which is “one serving” products: small-capacity kettles, rice cookers, individually wrapped anti-pollen masks, single bedding, small packages of food, etc.

Obviously, compared to European and American consumers who often buy a box of “family packs,” a large percentage of Japanese consumers who live alone need products that are suitable for one person. If sellers can carefully consider the needs of these people who live alone when designing product specifications and product selection, they will surely be more likely to capture the hearts of Japanese consumers.

The reason why Japan's offline retail industry is so developed is also inseparable from the unique culture of redeeming points. Unlike other countries, offline points in Japan are more commonly used. Consumers can obtain general points through purchases and deduct cash on subsequent purchases. The data shows that 76.4% [13] of consumers use points to buy items or exchange them for electronic money.

In order to better cater to the local market, Amazon Japan has launched a special loyalty program — the Amazon Seller Credit Program. Sellers' participation in the points program can divert products, attract Japanese consumers, and stimulate their desire to buy.

Since they advocate minimalism, Japanese people prefer to wear simple yet simple basic clothing, and pursue fine workmanship. When shopping for apparel, they prefer to find cost-effective products. At the same time, young people also like to pay attention to Japanese fashion magazines to learn about the current season's fashion items or trendy colors. For example, in 2020, the Japan Fashion Association decided that Human Red and Classic Blue are the 14 popular colors of the year, which is expected to set off a wave of fashion trends.

Japanese women usually like to add dresses to their outfits, while men prefer a simple style - T-shirts that can be worn alone or as an inner layer all year round are also popular. Due to their thin physique, Japanese men also like to emphasize body contouring and leg tightening when buying pants. Every year in Japan, April is a high-frequency job search period for college students. Some simple shirts, professional suits, etc. with lace elements were purchased in large numbers by women during this period.

Due to Japan's small land area and high population density, the area of commercial housing is mostly 70 square meters, even if it is a “mansion” of 100 square meters. Therefore, when purchasing furniture, Japanese consumers consider storage, organization and space utilization, and prefer small-sized furniture, foldable household items, and various types of storage items:
▼ Foldable household items: retractable hangers, foldable pots, storage boxes, folding baskets, shelves, etc.
▼ Small furniture that is easy to store: storage racks, TV stands, hangers, bookshelves, outdoor chairs, etc.

In terms of color and material, what Japanese consumers like is the simple style — large pieces of raw wood or light color, simple in shape, and mostly made of wood materials. Demand for Japanese furniture is stable, especially recently, more and more people are working from home, and demand for home computer desks and office chairs is also gradually increasing. Meanwhile, the New Life Support Season is a peak period for new Japanese employees and college students moving and relocating, and it is also a good time to sell household items. Online shopping saves consumers the trouble of carrying large pieces of furniture, so in product design, in addition to being simple and natural in terms of color and material, attention should also be paid to the ease of assembly of the product.

Japan is one of the countries that pay attention to packaging in the world. From a pack of snacks to an electrical appliance, Japanese packaging reveals user-friendly service and thoughtful design everywhere. Different categories also have different packaging “tricks”:
▼ Apparel sellers use beautiful cartons instead of ordinary plastic bags when packing suits
▼ Most snacks are individually packaged, and the outer packaging uses wrapping paper, string, three-dimensional ornaments, etc.
▼ Small household items such as towels will not be sold as widely as in China, but will be specially packed in bags/boxes
▼ If it rains, we will also pack an extra layer for customers to prevent the product from getting wet.

Overall, the packaging that most impresses Japanese consumers has elements of both traditional Japanese culture and modern creativity. Even products with little differentiation, such as towels, can stand out as long as they are designed in combination with the characteristics of the product packaging.

Japanese people love images of scenes that are elegant and simple. Only the display of images that match their aesthetic will make them willing to click on the product details page. They also have specific preferences for different categories of products.

In the fashion selection picture display, Asian models and oriental faces are more in line with the aesthetics of Japanese consumers. A fresh, bright, simple and bright picture style, full body color scheme display, and matching the current season's trends and popular colors are all the keys to touching Japanese consumers.

You can refer to popular Japanese fashion magazines for listing images of different styles. The categories of styles are very rich. Sweet styles include “non-no” and “CanCam,” workplace wear such as “Steady,” “Beautiful Flowers,” and “Begin” for men's fashion.

Most of the large furniture such as tables and chairs are made of solid wood. The pictures are decorated with indoor potted plants, pillow covers, etc., to create a harmonious, natural, and comfortable atmosphere.

Japanese consumers love the sense of technology brought by the blue/white/gray combination. Graphic displays of consumer electronics products need to be simple and clear, and the main points are clear.

Take a mobile power bank as an example. The product picture uses blue and white, showing the characteristics of the product such as large capacity, small size, and easy to carry with key points, icons, and usage scenarios.

The hiking bag can use a scenario-based image of a hiker carrying the product to highlight its practicality; the picture of the outdoor chair uses models to suggest that consumers are very relaxed when using it and can enjoy the comfort of the good weather.

▼ Use of product titles: Use half-width spaces between words, and use a half-width format for English/numbers/short lines
▼ General title rules: brand name+product name+features+function+model+color, etc.
▼ When preparing Japanese product manuals, if you can also refer to the above suggestions, it can also greatly reduce the pressure on after-sales customer service.

When shopping online, strict and meticulous Japanese consumers are used to checking the details word for word. If important reference information such as size, color, model, raw materials, power adapter, power, country of origin, etc. is missing, they may abandon the purchase and search for other products or stores instead. Using A+ templates to display and supplement non-mandatory attributes are two effective ways to detail product specification information.

With just a picture of a towel, it's hard for Japanese consumers to appreciate the soft texture of a towel. Through text support instructions, they can more vividly understand the characteristics of the product.

Japanese people are not good at direct expression and are afraid of causing trouble. As a result, many Japanese people, especially older consumers, are more or less “uneasy” about buying products online. If consumers' concerns can be taken into account in the description of the product's usage scenarios, it can effectively eliminate the “unease” of Japanese consumers and increase their confidence in placing orders.

Japanese consumers who buy fascia guns may be worried about whether the noise will be too loud during use and whether it will affect others.

For Japanese people who have a strong sense of ceremony, many times shopping doesn't just mean owning a product, but fulfilling the future they have made in their hearts. They also often ask themselves, why should I buy this product?How can it make a difference in my life?The more the future that Japanese consumers expect is depicted in the product description, the easier it is for them to be tempted.

Through the description of different usage scenarios, the purchase value of a gramophone retro-style music player is fully reflected.