世論 What Japan Thinks

Another regular survey today from goo Research, this time being the 10th electronic cash survey, as reported on by japan.internet.com.

Demographics

Between the 1st and 4th of June 2009 1,106 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 16.6% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.2% in their thirties, 16.3% in their forties, and 27.5% aged fifty or older.

The only electronic cash I use is at the work canteen and shop, which isn’t really electronic cash, I would argue; it uses the corporate credit card and gets charged through to my credit card just like a normal transaction – electronic cash to me has a rechargeable sum of cash stored in the card that gets subtracted from as you use. However, I don’t think this survey made such a subtle distinction.

Note that the survey concentrates on chipped credit cards, not mobile phones with the same chips.

Research results

Q1: Do you have an Edy, Suica or other contactless IC chipped credit card sized electronic cash card? (Sample size=1,106)

Yes	52.6%
Used to, but not now	4.4%
Never had one	40.1%
Don’t know what IC card-based electronic money is	2.9%

Of the 582 people who have such cards, there were 35 people who did not use the features, so the remaining 547 were asked the following questions.

Q2: Why do you use your electronic electronic cash cards? (Sample size=547, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Can shorten payment times	349	63.8%
Don’t fill up my pockets with loose change	225	41.1%
Can collect points	224	41.0%
Don’t need to carry cash with me	205	37.5%
Can use it at shops I often visit	136	24.9%
Don’t need to worry about how much money I’m carrying	82	15.0%
It’s combined with a cash card, season ticket, etc	72	13.2%
Convenient to have a record of spending	51	9.3%
Convenient to be able to add cash without having to visit the bank	48	8.8%
Safer than cash	30	5.5%
Other	17	3.1%

Q3: Where do you use your electronic electronic cash cards? (Sample size=547, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Public transport	382	69.8%
Convenience stores	281	51.4%
In-station shops	184	33.6%
Vending machines	152	27.8%
Supermarkets	111	20.3%
Book stores	51	9.3%
Drug stores	45	8.2%
Fast food restaurants	43	7.9%
Electrical superstores	40	7.3%
Restaurants	29	5.3%
Coffee shops	22	5.5%
On-line shopping	22	5.5%
Department stores	17	3.1%
Taxis	9	1.6%
Workplace, school cafereria, etc	8	1.5%
Hospitals	2	0.4%
Other	11	2.0%