世論 What Japan Thinks

One of the highlights of New Year shopping in Japan is buying a fukubukuro, which literally translates to “lucky bag”, so goo Research conducted a survey, reported on by japan.internet.com, on this very subject.

Demographics

Between the 6th and 11th of January 2010 1,089 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.2% of the sample were male, 16.5% in their teens, 18.4% in their twenties, 21.4% in their thirties, 15.9% in their forties, 15.8% in their fifties, and 12.0% aged sixty or older.

My lucky bag purchasing this year was limited as usual to a Mr Donuts one. For 1,000 yen I got my own selection of any ten doughnuts or pies, plus a wall calendar, a Pon-De-Ring lion cellphone strap, a blanket, and a Honey Shippo squirrel stuffed toy. They used to be better with a plate or mug and a diary, however.

I also managed to sell two Strapya Fukubukuro – hurry, there’s still some left!

Oh, and in Q1SQ2 I’d love to know who spent over a million yen on a fukubukuro over the internet.

Research results

First of all, 248 people, or 22.8% of the sample bought a lucky bag this year. Last year 24.4% did, and in 2008 27.1% did. These 248 people were asked the following.

Q1: Where did you buy your fukubukuro? (Sample size=248, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Department store (to SQ1)	95	38.3%
Shopping mall (to SQ1)	74	29.8%
Internet shop, auction (to SQ2)	40	16.1%
Supermarket (to SQ1)	37	14.9%
Small store (to SQ1)	27	10.9%
Electrical superstore (to SQ1)	21	8.5%
Sports shop (to SQ1)	5	2.0%
Other (to SQ1)	10	4.0%

Q1SQ1: How much did you spend on average on fukubukuro in bricks and mortar shops? (Sample size=216)

Under 1,000 yen	1.4%
1,000 to 4,999 yen	37.5%
5,000 to 9,999 yen	31.0%
10,000 to 19,999 yen	23.1%
20,000 to 49,999 yen	5.6%
50,000 to 99,999 yen	0.9%
100,000 to 199,999 yen	0.5%
200,000 yen or more	0.0%

Q1SQ2: How much did you spend on average on fukubukuro in internet shops, auction? (Sample size=40)

Under 1,000 yen	2.5%
1,000 to 4,999 yen	27.5%
5,000 to 9,999 yen	25.0%
10,000 to 19,999 yen	35.0%
20,000 to 49,999 yen	5.0%
50,000 to 99,999 yen	0.0%
100,000 to 199,999 yen	2.5%
200,000 to 499,999 yen	0.0%
500,000 to 999,999 yen	0.0%
1,000,000 yen or more	2.5%