Japan

Self-service cafeterias remains a minor niche in the Japanese market, accounting for only a small proportion of overall consumer foodservice value sales. Many consumers continue to associate such outlets with school, college or work canteens. ...

Bubble tea became an important trend in street stalls/kiosks in 2019. Also known as tapioca tea, bubble tea returned to popularity, having seen a previous boom during the 1990s. Bubble tea and sweets using tapioca have benefited from the rising ...

Smoking in restaurants will effectively be banned by a law coming into force in April 2020, which aims to reduce the risk of the harmful impact of passive smoking ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While small privately owned restaurants with no ...

Travel and lodging put in the strongest performances amongst non-standalone locations, and, indeed, grew faster than standalone outlets, in 2019. Nonetheless, growth remained modest and, moreover, all locations saw continued decline in the number of ...

Rising labour and ingredients costs and unfavourable demographic trends have presented considerable challenges to full-service restaurants, significantly constraining growth at the end of the review period. Full-service restaurants has been hit ...

With the Japanese population continuing to decline as a result of falling birth rates, limited-service restaurant operators are seeking to drive growth by increasing the amount consumers spend per transaction. Some restaurant chains are meeting with ...

Already facing the considerable challenges posed by a shrinking and ageing population, a severe labour shortage and a consumer trend towards eating at home, the Japanese consumer foodservice market ended 2019 responding to an increase in the rate of ...

Asia Pacific is a diverse region with nations at different stages in their digital development. While developed Asian nations have strong fixed-line and mobile broadband networks, consumers in emerging Asia have come into the digital mainstream ...

With sales of jeans having struggled for growth over the past decade, retailers which previously specialised in jeans are now including more variety in their stores. For example, in October 2018, jeans retailer “Jeans Mate” opened a new concept shop ...

Apparel and footwear in Japan continued to struggle for growth in 2019 with it facing a number of challenges. Firstly, Japan’s population continues to decline with it also ageing at a rapid rate. Added to this, there is growing interest and demand ...

Sports footwear continued to grow in popularity at the end of the review period thanks to a combination of trends, including the shift towards more casual office wear, the increasing popularity of jogging and the growing gym culture. Furthermore, the...

Comfortable and odour-free clothing rose to prominence in menswear in Japan during the review period with men appreciating clothing which allows them to go about their day in comfort and without the stress of sweat and body odour. The idea of “smell ...

During the review period, garment rental and sharing services emerged in the market. airCloset, operated by airCloset Inc, is one of the services to see significant expansion in Japan. It operates on a monthly subscription model with clothes styled ...

The birth rate in Japan saw a steady decline over the review period, leading to a fall in the population aged 0-14 years. With the consumer base declining, childrenswear in Japan contracted further in 2019. Nonetheless, the decline of childrenswear ...

With strong concerns about the effect of the sun on skin health, many female consumers wear hats/caps to protect themselves from UV exposure during the summer. Hats/caps that are both functional and fashionable proved popular amongst female consumers...

To add interest to a mature category some players introduced new and innovative product lines into hosiery over the review period. For example, ASTIGU from Atsugi Co Ltd introduced a new line of hosiery with a heating function in 2019. The new range ...

Sportswear continued to see steady growth in current value terms in 2019, even as overall sales of apparel and footwear declined. Rising consumer health-awareness is leading to an increase in the number of people engaging in regular exercise and ...

Our baseline global GDP growth forecast has remained stable since Q4 2019 at around 3% in 2020, improving slightly to 3.2% growth in 2021. Positive factors in the outlook remain above average consumer confidence in key economies, supportive monetary ...

Traditional grocery retailers face a challenging environment, as modern retailers such as convenience stores, supermarkets and even drugstores encroach on their competitive space. These rival formats represent a growing threat to traditional grocery ...

Department stores faced considerable challenges during the review period, as the potential consumer base contracted as a result of population decline, and the channel faced growing competition from specialist retailers, shopping centres and ...