By Ken Y-N ( May 16, 2009 at 23:44)
· Filed under Business, Internet, Polls
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MyVoice recently conducted a survey into online shopping usage, the sixth time they have looked at this topic. The results of this survey are very relevant to anyone trying to sell stuff in the Japanese market.
Demographics
Over the first five days of April 2009 15,665 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% int heir teens, 15% in their twenties, 35% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.
The numbers below are much higher than I would have expected! It’s a surprise to me that books are the top item bought – there’s very little discounting on Amazon Japan and there’s no shortage of physical book stores so I feel the online benefit is marginal in Japan, but obviously my gut feeling is wrong.
In Q2SQ4, I’m surprised they didn’t have a specific answer for a text link through a blog, as when I buy stuff it’s usually after a search for reviews then an affiliate click-through from a blog.
Research results
Q1: Have you ever bought anything via mail order through the television, radio, catalogues, leaflets, internet, etc, excluding internet auctions? (Sample size=15,665)
| Yes |
94.3% |
| No (to end of survey) |
5.7% |
Q2: Within the last year what have you used to buy mail order? (Sample size=mail order shoppers, multiple answer)
| Computer internet (to SQs) |
94.7% |
| Catalogue |
27.4% |
| Mobile internet |
12.7% |
| Leaflet in newspaper |
6.9% |
| Televsion |
6.0% |
| Direct mail |
4.9% |
| Members’ magazine |
4.5% |
| Newspaper, magazine advertisement |
3.7% |
| Radio |
1.1% |
| Other |
0.6% |
| Not used anything in the last year |
2.8% |
| No answer |
0.1% |
Q2SQ1: Within the last year about how many times have you bought items via computer-based internet? (Sample size=computer internet shoppers)
| Once |
4.3% |
| Twice or thrice |
18.9% |
| Four or five times |
19.6% |
| Six to nine times |
16.4% |
| Ten to nineteen times |
22.2% |
| Twenty or more times |
18.0% |
| No answer |
0.6% |
Q2SQ2: Within the last year what have you bought (or used)? (Sample size=computer internet shoppers, multiple answer)
| Books, magazines |
50.5% |
| Food, drink, alcohol |
48.6% |
| Clothes |
47.6% |
| CD, DVD, video |
38.0% |
| Cosmetics, beauty products |
34.9% |
| Clothing accessories, other small items |
31.5% |
| Travel, hotel bookings, airline tickets, train tickets |
31.4% |
| Health foods, health care products, supplements |
30.8% |
| Computer, peripherals |
28.4% |
| Home electricals, audio-visual |
26.1% |
| Computer games, toys, hobby items |
23.8% |
| Everyday items |
23.2% |
| Interior, furniture |
18.1% |
| Regional delicacies, specialities |
15.1% |
| Concert, other event tickets |
14.8% |
| Gifts, flowers, seasonal gifts |
14.5% |
| Financial products |
13.2% |
| Downloadable software |
10.4% |
| Sporting, outdoor items |
8.9% |
| Pet, pet goods |
7.5% |
| Physical packaged software |
7.3% |
| Paid-for digital contents |
6.5% |
| Gardening, DIY |
3.8% |
| Other |
3.0% |
| No answer |
0.0% |
Q2SQ3: Within the last year which shopping sites have you used? (Sample size=computer internet shoppers, multiple answer)
Q2SQ4:How did you access these shopping sites? (Sample size=computer internet shoppers, multiple answer)
| Search by product name |
44.0% |
| Search by company, shop name |
35.7% |
| From bookmark |
31.3% |
| Through price comparison site |
21.2% |
| Search for keyword related to product |
20.3% |
| Email newsletter |
18.9% |
| From portal site category listing |
16.4% |
| Advertisement on other web site |
3.4% |
| Advertisement on blog |
1.9% |
| Advertisement on personal web site |
1.3% |
| Other |
5.3% |
| Don’t remember |
2.1% |
| No answer |
0.5% |
Q2SQ5: Compared to a year ago, how has your online shopping frequency through computer-based internet changed? (Sample size=computer internet shoppers)
| Increased |
21.9% |
| Increased a little |
32.3% |
| Not changed |
39.9% |
| Decreased a little |
4.5% |
| Decreased |
1.1% |
| No answer |
0.3% |
Read more on: myvoice,
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If you are looking for a great site that can help you with your online shopping in Japan try out kakaku.com. This site lists all the prices from the various online stores selling the product you are after. The site is really good for price comparison of online Japanese stores..