Apparently there is quite a sub-culture of pen collectors in Japan, but that was not one of the issues investiged by MyVoice when they looked at stationery.
Demographics
Over the first five days of April 2009 15,602 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.
It seems that in nearly every restaurant I go to that requires credit card signatures and has a woman on the till, said woman will have a cute pen decorated with Hello Kitty or the like, often complete with a dangly mascot. For my part I rarely buy stationery, with the last one being a stick of glue in a 100 yen shop last year. Most of my work pens are from work or freebies from conferences.
Oh, and I’ve never really got the appeal of four-colour pens; I grew out of them early into secondary school, yet half my office seems to have them and use them regularly.
There’s nothing terribly graphable in this survey, so instead lets have an advertisement for pens:
Research results
Q1: For work, study, private use, etc, which of the following stationery items do you normally use? (Sample size=15,602, multiple answer)
Ball pen
95.2%
Scissors
72.5%
Eraser
72.1%
Propelling pencil
72.1%
Calculator
69.6%
Sellotape
66.7%
Stapler
66.5%
Paste-like glue (stick glue, etc)
64.7%
Craft knife
57.1%
File
57.0%
Bulldog clip (binder clip)
56.1%
Correcting fluid, correcting tape
54.1%
Notepad
52.4%
Diary
51.2%
Highlighter
48.9%
Envelope
48.6%
Label
48.0%
Elastic band
47.8%
Packaging tape
43.0%
Felt pen, marker
35.1%
Pencil
34.6%
Pencil case
30.7%
Writing paper
21.3%
Glue (other types)
19.6%
Coloured pencil
13.8%
Calligraphy brush pen
12.8%
Desk pad, mat
11.7%
Fountain pen
5.3%
Other
5.1%
Nothing in particular
1.1%
Q2: How particular are you about the stationery items that you use? (Sample size=15,602)
If I don’t like the item I don’t want to use it
8.5%
If possible I want to use items I like
37.7%
If there’s a choice I’ll pick my favourite, but not really that bothered
33.5%
I use whatever’s available
20.4%
Q3: Where do you normally buy the stationery items that you use? (Sample size=15,602, multiple answer)
100 yen shop
54.1%
General variety store
35.8%
DIY centre
32.1%
Supermarket
25.9%
Large stationery shop
22.2%
Ordinary stationery shop
18.0%
Convenience store
13.9%
Department store stationery corner
11.7%
Catalogue, internet mail order
10.1%
Character goods shop
7.7%
Brand shop
1.5%
Other
4.2%
Don’t buy myself
8.0%
No answer
0.1%
Q4: When buying stationery items, which of the following are important? (Sample size=stationery buyers, multiple answer)
Price
76.8%
Functionality
66.8%
Ease of use
65.2%
Design
35.7%
Size
32.6%
Colour
27.2%
Shape
18.1%
Materials
15.9%
Durability
13.2%
Maker, brand name
8.5%
Suits the TPO (time, place and occasion)
8.1%
Rarity, oddness
6.2%
Wide selection
5.7%
Character
4.8%
Kind to the environment
4.2%
Cleanliness
2.8%
New product
1.6%
In vogue
1.4%
Other
0.9%
Nothing in particular
3.2%
No answer
0.2%
Q5: For what reasons do you buy new stationery or buy replacement stationery items? (Sample size=stationery buyers, multiple answer)
When the current one breaks
82.6%
When I lose the current one
44.8%
When the current one gets old
32.3%
When I need something I don’t have to hand
31.5%
When the current one becomes difficult to use
31.4%
When I see it in the shop and want to buy
28.6%
When I find something that is better than the current one
20.2%
When I get bored with my current one
9.5%
When I have a fresh start
7.1%
When I see, hear about others using one and want it myself
5.9%
When I find out what’s in vogue and want it myself
3.4%
When friends recommend it to me
2.9%
Other
1.4%
No answer
0.4%
Q6: From where do you obtain information regarding stationery items? (Sample size=15,602, multiple answer)
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