Product Tour de Japan – US Seasonal Buying Trends for Common Japanese Products
Picture by musumemiyuki
As marketers, aren’t we always trying to find products that will be accepted in a given market? Entering the US Back-to-School season, I thought about some common Japanese products that might have potential popularity during the key US buying seasons of 2010.
August – Back to School
Cellphone ownership (pdf) amongst age groups from 6-11 are up. Back to school accessories for kids – a phone accessory may help your child from losing their cellphone like a strap or case. The Japanese are leaders in accessorizing almost anything and showing these items as a fashion/style item. The “keitai” or cellphone accessories is what personalizes the phones in Japan. From cases to combo-wallets, I see some fresh phone accessory designs coming out of Japan, especially for the iPhone. Kids will be able to identify their “keitai” now.
One thing that the the Japanese really do well are cases and bags. Commuting on trains, bikes, motorcycles or scooter is common in Japan and having a bag that can hold many things is important on their urban commute assault. This canvas bag is constructed by Japanese craftsman and made of a unique weave pattern to create a very strong and breathable fabric.
September & October – Autumn Fun
Fall brings a change in clothing and one of the most popular holidays in the US–halloween. With the large disposable income that the Japanese have at their disposal, fashion is big business in Japan. Trendy fashions coming out of Tokyo is always a buzz. Long t-shirts are the style in the Tokyo fashion scene. With this long turtleneck t-shirt, accessory belt, boots and jeans, you will be looking trendy and stylish for the mild fall weather.
As fall comes, we have our own childhood icons that we dress up as for Holloween. The Japanese make costumes too. Dragonball has been popularized in the US with the movie release last year and has been popular for years amongst the US J-Pop culture. Get your hair spiked and go door-to-door in full-costume with the Dragonball theme.
November & December – Holiday Celebrations!
Thanksgiving marks the time of family get together and the official start of the Christmas buying season with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Common items for guests to bring to a Thanksgiving dinner are cakes and snacks. Common to Japanese is the cultural norm of bringing a gift as a guest to your host house. The packaging of green tea ‘ocha’, cakes and cookies is something the Japanese take pride in. Bring a nicely wrapped Japanese cake box or ‘ocha’ and you will be appreciated by your hosts and always welcomed back.
Looking for a quick stocking stuffer for mom or your significant other? I was always amazed by the amount of women’s accessories in Tokyo department stores. At some stores, the accessory section was bigger than the clothes section. Accessories like bracelets, belts, necklaces and hair bands are always popular with women. Hair clips accessorize a wardrobe and always attracts the eye.
Gaming together is part of life and part of the Wii culture. The Japanese never stop thinking about efficiency. If you going charge something, why not charge two. Never play alone again if your battery power stops with this dual Wii controller charger.
Just like last year, this season is going to be a race for attracting buyers attention for their pocket books. Foreign products need to understand the buying seasonal trends of any market. Which product will allow you to move out of the pack? Posted 644 days ago
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