Japan

Skin care in Japan experienced a tailwind in terms of domestic demand in 2022 due to greater opportunities to spend time outside of the home, including more of a focus on appearance and the wearing of cosmetics, which supported increasing sales of…

The average temperature from June to August 2022 was the second highest recorded since statistics began in Japan in 1898, and the severe hot weather contributed to positive demand for deodorants. Other factors driving sales following several years of…

Dog food in Japan is set to continue to decline in retail volume terms in 2023, due to the continuous fall in the dog population. An ageing population and an increasing number of dual-income and single-person households, coupled with cramped housing…

Cat food in Japan is expected to continue to see a positive performance in retail current value terms in 2023, mainly due to unit price increases, led by inflation and ongoing premiumisation. In 2022, most manufacturers increased their prices by…

Floor polish is not a standard product for many of the younger generation. It might have been used by the older generations, but this custom has not continued strongly. It is very time-consuming and tiring to use on a regular basis. Another reason…

Dishwashing was one of the large home care categories that grew well in current value terms in 2020. Increased time spent at home during the pandemic led to greater frequency of consumption of food and drinks at home, which led to increased frequency…

Like other home care categories, after seeing exceptional growth in 2020, driven by COVID-19, bleach also saw a drop in its current value sales in 2021, which continued in 2022. In spring 2020, some consumers were very concerned about the pandemic…

The impact of COVID-19 continued into 2022, as states of emergency and quasi-states of emergency announced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 continued in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka until the end of March 2022. However, with the easing of…

Despite the expectation of marginal retail volume decline in 2022, after an exceptional year of growth in 2021, a dishwasher is still amongst the top three “must-haves” for households with busy lifestyles, typically those with children and both…

Apparel accessories experienced a strong current value decline in 2022, mainly due to an unstoppable decline in demand for fashion masks (included under other apparel accessories). Nevertheless, business items such as ties and belts recovered…

Japan finally eased its various regulations around COVID-19 in 2023. This has had a significant impact on the travel industry in 2023, not only in terms of deregulation, but also in terms of changes in consumers’ perception of and behaviour towards…

Airlines is regaining momentum along with deregulation related to COVID-19, and the return of inbound tourism. However, the supply side has not kept pace with this recovery. The process of restoring the business structure is taking time, after many…

In 2022, the Japanese tobacco industry continued the trend of cigarettes recording a retail volume decline and heated tobacco products recording volume growth. While the tax on heated tobacco was increased in October 2022, heated tobacco maintained…

The average temperature in Japan from June-August 2022 was the second highest recorded since statistics began in 1898, and the severe hot weather contributed to improving demand for sun care during the year. Other factors that also led to a rebound…

Pet care in Japan is set to grow in retail current value terms in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases, led by both inflationary pressure and the ongoing premiumisation trend. Many of the ingredients used in pet food, such as chicken and…

Since the pandemic emerged in Japan, sales through supermarkets spiked due to consumers spending greater time at home, including the adoption of remote working. While there was a stronger return to the workplace in 2022, hybrid working models became…

The retail industry in Japan performed well in 2022, with current value sales already fully recovering to pre-pandemic levels the previous year. However, this differed across the channels, with overall value sales through retail offline remaining…

Despite prolonged time spent at home in Japan during the pandemic, value sales through hypermarkets declined compared to a positive performance by supermarkets in 2020. This decline continued in 2021 and 2022, as many local consumers generally favour…

For more than a decade, stick vacuum cleaners saw continuous growth by taking sales from cylinder vacuum cleaners, since Dyson made it clear that cordless stick types could work as well, as or even better, than cylinder types in terms of usability.…

In 2022, Japan has begun to see less impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. It might have been a slower and weaker recovery compared with most of the world, but the situation improved from 2021. 2020 was a year of panic and heavy home seclusion. The…