JAPAN
Though geographically small,
Japan is both an economic and
ecommerce powerhouse.
Japan is slightly smaller than California1
The official currency
of Japan is the
Yen
163,696 145,925
sq. miles sq. miles
MARKET OVERVIEW
1 japanmin.com/about.htm
Japan is strengthening the economy,
improving labor market conditions
and dealing with inflation.
#
$4.729 trillion is
5
Japan’s GDP of
in the world2
per capita GDP $36,0003
Population of 127,100,00 is #11 in the world4
2 CIA Factbook,
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html?countryname
=Japan&countrycode=ja&regionCode=eas&rank=5#ja
3 wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan
4 www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
ONLINE INSIGHTS
up
There are 109 million
Japanese online.
8
%
in 20145
Japanese online users:
87
86
%
%
74
Internet6
Mobile7
29
%
Smartphone9
%
Tablet8
Age of Internet users in Japan10
(25-34)
(45-54)
15% (15-24)
17%
22% (35-44)
18%
28% (55+)
5 www.InternetLiveStats.com
6 www.InternetLiveStats.com
7 Projected 2015 www.statista.com/statistics/ 239086/forecast-of-mobile-internet-users-in-japan/
8 Projected 2015
www.emarketer.com/Article/Tablet-Users-Surpass-1-Billion-Worldwide-2015/1011806
9 Projected 2015www.statista. com/statistics/257044/smartphone-user-penetration-in-japan
10 www.statista.com /statistics/276045/age-distribution-of-internet-users-in-japan/
ECOMMERCE SPOTLIGHT
Online sales in Japan, 2014 ¥8.5 trillion11
$
$
Retail ecommerce sales12
$
$
70.6 $
$
62.13
70.83
$
79.33
88.06
96.87
106.07
in billion US$
*forecast
2012 2013
2014
2015* 2016*
2017* 2018*
11 statista.com/statistics/289736/japan-retail-e-commerce-sales-figures/
12 statista.com/statistics/289736/japan-retail-e-commerce-sales-figures/
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
In Japan,
when they browse, they buy
Most Popular Browsing & Buying Categories in Asia Pacific13
Browsing
Buying
49% 57%
44% 53%
43% 59%
43% 41%
41% 44%
Clothes
Tours/ Hotel
Reservations
Airline
Tickets
Electronic
Equipment
Mobile
Phones
13 ir.nielsen.com/files/doc_financials/Nielsen-Global-E-commerce-Report-August-2014.pdf
PAYMENTS OVERVIEW
The most popular method of payment
in Japan is the credit card14
Top three credit cards
in Japan14
42% Visa
36% Mastercard
60
%
18% JCB
of Japanese online
shoppers pay with a
credit card14
14 ekosglobal.com/insights/global-ecommerce-japan/
CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Utilizing Japanese is critical
to online success
%
99
of 125 million people
speak Japanese almost
exclusively15
STYLE INSIGHTS
“We speak
Japanese.”
日
本
語
が
母
国
語
で
す
15 www.thepaypers.com/ecommerce- facts-and-figures/japan/4
Ecommerce web design is influenced by
a variety of aesthetic trends16
¥9500
¥4300
“Harajuku”
Hip & trendy
17
“Kawaii”
¥24300
Cute & adorable
18
“Shibu”
Beautiful & refined19
16 webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/big-in-japan-web-design-in-the- land-ofthe-rising-sun--cms-23290
17 www.japanesestreets.com
18 www.tofugu.com/2012/08/09/japan-why-so-kawaii/
19 www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/
simplicity-and-elegance-using-japanese-style-in-your-garden-pictures
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