Japan

During COVID-19, lodging in Japan suffered greatly due to various travel restrictions, leading many outlets to close temporarily, or even some to close altogether. However, in 2023, when travel restrictions were lifted completely early in the year,…

Limited-service restaurants continued to see a positive current value performance in 2023, mainly driven by unit price increases. Although some companies had already implemented price increases in 2022, it became inevitable that they would raise…

Laundry care saw growth in retail current value terms in 2023. However, retail volume sales fell by an even larger amount than the drop seen in 2022. What pushed up value sales was price increases. Japan saw three decades with little growth in the…

Large cooking appliances in Japan is composed of built-in hobs, ovens, and both built-in and freestanding cooker hoods. Range cookers are not common in Japan, while ovens is only a small category, as the space in kitchens is usually limited, and the…

In 2023, total volume sales of juice are set to decrease compared with 2022. On-trade volume sales are expected to increase thanks to a continued rebound in demand as the legal status of COVID-19 was downgraded to Class 5 in May. However, off-trade…

Jewellery is set to maintain growth in retail volume and current value terms in 2023, with growth for both costume and fine jewellery, although this will slow compared with previous years. Polarisation has continued in jewellery in Japan in 2023,…

Jeans experienced a significant drop in sales in 2020, followed by a year of stagnation in 2021 as COVID-19 prevailed in the country in these two years. Home seclusion, or “sugomori” in Japanese, was a hot term at this time. As society began to open…

After a double-digit retail volume decrease was seen for in-car entertainment in 2020, brought about by home seclusion during the pandemic, in-car entertainment experienced a further almost double-digit decline in 2021. The decrease slowed in 2022,…

Volume sales of digital cameras are set to see another year of decline in 2023. Over the last decade, volume sales have been on an unstoppable decreasing trend. One factor which is positive, however, is that the negative volume growth rate expected…

Ice cream in Japan is set to see minimal retail volume growth along with dynamic current value growth in 2024. Amidst rising domestic demand for dairy products, ice cream experienced several price increases during the review period due to stagnant…

Hypermarkets usually sell a wider range of products compared with other types of grocery retailers, such as supermarkets and convenience stores, but may not be as centrally positioned or as favoured for regular visits. Nevertheless, hypermarkets…

Consumers’ health consciousness and interest in nutrition were growing even before the pandemic. However, after COVID-19 hit Japan, the health and wellness trend accelerated, as consumers strived to maintain their general health to lessen the risk of…

More consumers are turning towards drinks that offer fortification or functionality, as these are increasingly seen as options that can help to improve their diet. Consumers want to improve any health issues that they are concerned about, and are…

The volume growth of snacks in Japan has been hampered by the fact that the population is facing a declining trend. Moreover, companies have been having difficulty controlling product costs and maintaining their profits, as raw materials, energy, and…

With the prolonged impact of the pandemic, health continues to be top-of-mind for many Japanese consumers. More people are turning towards beverages that offer fortification or functionality, as these are increasingly seen as options that can help to…

Facing a continuous decline in the birth rate, and consequently the population, growth in health and wellness dairy products and alternatives has been hampered. However, as consumers’ health consciousness and interest in nutrition was growing even…

Japanese consumers have relatively high interest in functional products, and generally trust the claims on the packaging and in marketing activities. With the aim of assisting consumers to make more informed choices, a system of Foods with Function…

Even though fresh ground coffee has been recording declining sales in the last two years, folding cartons have been growing in popularity as a pack type in this category, registering increasing packaging unit volumes and gaining share. Folding…

In 2023, hot drinks is set to record opposite performances in the foodservice channel and the retail channel. On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government downgraded the legal status of COVID-19 to Class 5, the level of common infectious disease. This was…

2020 was a year of decline for overall apparel and footwear, but for hosiery it was a disaster. One-third of the category’s volume and value sales vanished in just this year. 2021 and 2022 also saw declines, although at a much slower rate. Even in…