What will be hot in Japan next year?
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Dentsu released a report on this year’s top products and predictions for next year’s big things, based on various public and private marketing surveys and a little bit of guess work by various style magazines. As I don’t read any of these style magazines, be they English or Japanese, some of the topics are a bit difficult to work out, so apologies in advance!
Just in case you’re wondering, the picture to the right is of Miki Ando (Mikitty), who represents at least three of the products listed below – figure skating, flat screen televisions (she’s one of the Viera advert figures), and Nintendo DS adverts. And she’s got an awfully nice smile.
First, by means of an internet survey carried out in November amongst 1000 people aged 15 and over, they found out this year’s top topics of conversation or points of interest amongst consumers.
- Portable digital audio player
- Hard disk DVD recorder
- Blog
- Large flat-screen TV
- Kanten (agar agar)
- Aichi Expo
- Mobile phones with electronic money features
- TV Drama “Gokusen”
- Electronic money
- Music download service
Runner-up: Disaster prevention goods and services
Now, they asked various magazines to come up with current hot topics and next year’s big things in various consumer categories.Trend number 1: Gorgeous
Current products
Large flat-screen TV – Aichi Expo – new to Japan high-class car brands – next generation portable gaming – branded pork (eh?) – premium beer – casual classical music
2006 hit predictions
Figure skating – high-quality high-class headphones – French restaurant – Mozart boom – Omote Sando Hills – interior shop for design-and-build homes (?) – Super-luxury Asian resort – high-class cup sake
Trend number 2: Connecting
Current products
Portable digital audio player – blog – hard disk DVD recorder – TV Drama “Gokusen” – ring-tune phone – music download service – mobile phones with electronic money features – NANA – portable DVD player – net publishing – Japanese language variety program – video on demand – mini-van with flooring – mobile-phone targeted book publishing
2006 hit predictions
One-seq (mobile phone targetted digital TV broadcast) – videoblogging – respect for parents boom (!) – one year late young teenager-targetted portable audio player big boom – American drama “Desperate Housewives”
Trend number 3: Wisdom
Current LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) products
Kanten – CoQ10 – Ghenghis Khan – All-electric home – Cool Biz/Warm Biz – Yoga and Pilates – detox – food education – hybrid high-class SUV – mottainai – all non-smoking izakaya pubs
Current “modulation” products
Disaster prevention goods and services – internet share dealing – third-sector beer – free internet phones – 100,000 yen LCD TV – privacy protection goods – business-use store (?) – new-type 100 yen shop – low-cost home security
2006 hit predictions
Bio-wine – vegetable cocktail – designer LOHAS – bonsai – germanium home bathing – Cool Biz progression (casual jackets) – mountain climbing – kobujutsu – nature documentary – Japanese bananas – wooden products – from brand shopping to select shopping – charity
Trend number 4: Maturity
Current products
Evolutionary oven microwave – golf – electronic dictionary – brain training boom – digital SLR – tales of olden days – silent washer-drier – evolutionary fridge – oldies rock
2006 hit predictions
Baby-boom consumption – oral hair restorer – male anti-aging cosmetics – housewife-level net share dealing (?!) – Jazz on 50′s or 60′s record player
Trend number 5: Difference
Current products
“Densha Otoko” – ordered foods – Akihabara – pro baseball – soup curry – regional dialect boom – outer space business – aquarium boom – home planetarium – local knowledge exam
2006 hit predictions
Goshi (low-ranking) samurai cooking (!?) – China boom – Japanese culture reverse import (importation of products influenced by Japanese food or design, etc) – outer space tourism – Germany (World Cup) boom – local brand boom – 20Q
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