世論 What Japan Thinks

Here’s a great survey from goo Research into used, rental, and repaired goods and services.

Demographics

Between the 28th of April and the 5th of May 2011 1,074 members of the goo Research online monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.2% of the sample were female, 20.1% in their twenties, 20.2% in their thirties, 20.1% in their forties, 19.6% in their fifties, and 19.9% aged sixty or older.

My wife won’t go near anything second-hand, and as for repairing in Japan, I feel unless I have a direct contact with a decent engineer, the average call-out charges or repair costs compare unfavourably with the cost of just buying a replacement item. We’ve had stuff repaired under guarantee – the last time was when our washing machine croaked and they gave us a brand-new latest model upgrade for nothing – but it feels like too much hassle to get older stuff looked at.

Research results

Q1: In the last two years have you purchased used goods or services, and will you in the future purchase? (Sample size=1,074)

	Used	Will use
All	38.5%	37.1%
Male, twenties N=106	38.7%	41.5%
Male, thirties N=107	38.3%	40.2%
Male, forties N=107	34.6%	41.1%
Male, fifties N=105	37.1%	35.2%
Male, sixties plus N=110	32.7%	24.5%
Female, twenties N=110	46.4%	42.7%
Female, thirties N=110	46.4%	43.6%
Female, forties N=109	46.8%	44.0%
Female, fifties N=106	35.8%	33.0%
Female, sixties plus N=104	26.9%	24.0%

Q2: In the last two years have you rented, shared goods or services, and will you in the future rent, share? (Sample size=1,074)

	Rented	Will rent
All	27.2%	31.1%
Male, twenties N=106	40.6%	41.5%
Male, thirties N=107	35.5%	33.6%
Male, forties N=107	23.4%	26.2%
Male, fifties N=105	21.0%	30.5%
Male, sixties plus N=110	17.3%	21.8%
Female, twenties N=110	30.9%	40.0%
Female, thirties N=110	32.7%	38.2%
Female, forties N=109	31.2%	30.3%
Female, fifties N=106	25.5%	31.1%
Female, sixties plus N=104	13.5%	17.3%

Q3: In the last two years have you paid to get items repaired, and will you in the future pay to get items repaired? (Sample size=1,074)

	Repaired	Will repair
All	32.8%	34.2%
Male, twenties N=106	19.8%	18.9%
Male, thirties N=107	35.5%	28.0%
Male, forties N=107	24.3%	31.8%
Male, fifties N=105	31.4%	34.3%
Male, sixties plus N=110	35.5%	24.5%
Female, twenties N=110	40.9%	32.7%
Female, thirties N=110	31.8%	32.7%
Female, forties N=109	31.2%	42.2%
Female, fifties N=106	40.6%	49.1%
Female, sixties plus N=104	36.5%	37.5%

Q4: In the last two years which used goods or services have you purchased, and which will you want to purchase in the future? (Sample size=1,074, multiple answer)

	Used	Will use
Bag, accessories	7.4%	7.4%
Formal wear	2.2%	2.8%
Casual wear	9.6%	7.8%
Children’s clothes	5.1%	4.2%
Ceremonial wear	1.1%	1.9%
Shoes, sneakers	3.2%	3.1%
Wristwatch	1.7%	3.2%
Residence	2.9%	3.4%
Kitchen items, crockery, cutlery	1.4%	1.3%
Table, chairs	2.1%	2.9%
Wardrobe, bookcase	1.9%	2.8%
Sofa, bed, futon	0.7%	1.4%
Sewing machine, other furniture	0.7%	1.2%
Parking space	0.2%	0.6%
Office, shared workspace, holiday home, facilities	0.3%	0.5%
Garden, field	0.3%	0.6%
Disaster goods (torch, candle, battery, emergency food, emergency toilet, etc)	0.2%	0.4%
Other household items (light bulbs, cardboard boxes, etc)	0.1%	0.0%
Microwave oven	0.7%	1.2%
Refrigerator	1.1%	1.0%
Washing machine, drier	1.2%	0.9%
Air conditioner, air purifier, etc	0.5%	1.1%
Vacuum cleaner	0.5%	1.0%
Computer, printer	2.8%	3.7%
Mobile phone, smartphone	0.7%	1.7%
Audio-visual equipment	1.8%	3.1%
Digital camera, audio player	1.0%	2.7%
Car	7.4%	7.3%
Bicycle	2.1%	4.6%
Motorbike, scooter	1.2%	2.0%
Toys	3.8%	3.5%
Books, comics	19.4%	17.6%
Video, DVD	8.9%	10.1%
Pushchair	1.4%	2.1%
Pet goods	0.3%	0.7%
Garden equipment	0.5%	0.7%
Sports equipment	1.0%	2.0%
Education-related equipment	1.1%	1.5%
Other	0.4%	0.3%

Q5: In the last two years which goods or services have you rented, shared, and which will you want to rent, share in the future? (Sample size=1,074, multiple answer)

	Rented	Will rent
Bag, accessories	0.7%	2.4%
Formal wear	1.9%	4.5%
Casual wear	0.3%	0.5%
Children’s clothes	0.6%	0.5%
Ceremonial wear	2.0%	4.0%
Shoes, sneakers	0.5%	0.7%
Wristwatch	0.2%	0.6%
Water, rice, other grains	0.3%	1.7%
Canned food, bottled food, instant food	0.3%	1.5%
Other foods	0.0%	0.2%
Residence	2.0%	1.8%
Kitchen items, crockery, cutlery	0.3%	0.9%
Table, chairs	0.5%	0.3%
Wardrobe, bookcase	0.4%	0.6%
Sofa, bed, futon	0.6%	0.7%
Sewing machine, other furniture	0.3%	0.6%
Parking space	4.1%	3.2%
Office, shared workspace, holiday home, facilities	1.0%	2.1%
Garden, field	1.3%	3.0%
Daily use goods	0.6%	1.2%
Medical items	0.4%	0.7%
Cosmetics	0.4%	1.0%
Disaster goods (torch, candle, battery, emergency food, emergency toilet, etc)	0.4%	1.1%
Other household items (light bulbs, cardboard boxes, etc)	0.1%	0.1%
Microwave oven	0.6%	0.6%
Refrigerator	0.5%	0.7%
Washing machine, drier	0.4%	0.7%
Air conditioner, air purifier, etc	0.4%	0.8%
Vacuum cleaner	0.5%	0.6%
Computer, printer	0.7%	1.1%
Mobile phone, smartphone	0.4%	0.7%
Audio-visual equipment	0.7%	0.7%
Digital camera, audio player	0.4%	0.7%
Car	4.3%	6.5%
Bicycle	0.7%	2.8%
Motorbike, scooter	0.3%	1.3%
Taxi	2.9%	3.2%
Toys	0.4%	0.7%
Books, comics	3.9%	5.1%
Video, DVD	15.5%	15.3%
Pushchair	0.7%	1.8%
Pet goods	0.3%	0.4%
Garden equipment	0.3%	0.5%
Sports equipment	0.9%	1.6%
Education-related equipment	0.3%	0.7%
Social finance	0.1%	0.4%
Internet-related services (apps, contents, music, etc)	0.9%	0.9%
Other	0.2%	0.3%

No, I have no idea how you rent food! I could understand renting a water fountain, but I don’t understand why foods and cosmetics appear here. Perhaps it is the sharing aspect, buying in bulk between a number of people?

Q6: In the last two years which items have you paid to get repaired, and which will you want to pay to get repaired in the future? (Sample size=1,074, multiple answer)

	Repaired	Will repair
Bag, accessories	4.1%	6.1%
Formal wear	2.4%	2.8%
Casual wear	2.1%	1.5%
Children’s clothes	0.6%	0.5%
Ceremonial wear	1.0%	1.7%
Shoes, sneakers	8.1%	5.5%
Wristwatch	7.4%	10.0%
Residence	4.2%	9.7%
Kitchen items, crockery, cutlery	1.4%	3.2%
Table, chairs	1.2%	3.1%
Wardrobe, bookcase	0.7%	2.8%
Sofa, bed, futon	0.8%	2.6%
Sewing machine, other furniture	1.0%	3.3%
Office, shared workspace, holiday home, facilities	0.4%	0.7%
Disaster goods (torch, candle, battery, emergency food, emergency toilet, etc)	0.6%	1.0%
Other household items (light bulbs, cardboard boxes, etc)	0.1%	0.2%
Microwave oven	1.1%	5.7%
Refrigerator	1.7%	7.1%
Washing machine, drier	2.6%	6.7%
Air conditioner, air purifier, etc	2.8%	7.3%
Vacuum cleaner	1.2%	4.6%
Computer, printer	6.5%	9.4%
Mobile phone, smartphone	2.9%	4.0%
Audio-visual equipment	2.3%	7.3%
Digital camera, audio player	1.5%	4.9%
Car	5.7%	11.4%
Bicycle	6.9%	8.5%
Motorbike, scooter	0.9%	2.0%
Toys	0.5%	0.7%
Books, comics	0.4%	0.6%
Video, DVD	0.9%	0.9%
Pushchair	0.3%	0.5%
Pet goods	0.3%	0.0%
Garden equipment	0.4%	0.8%
Sports equipment	0.7%	0.8%
Education-related equipment	0.2%	0.3%
Other	0.4%	0.3%

Q7: How has your feeling towards used, rental and repaired goods changed recently? (Sample size=1,074)

	Used	Rental	Repaired
Never felt reluctance	38.1%	46.0%	72.9%
Used to feel reluctance, recently become less reluctant	21.4%	16.9%	9.9%
Used to feel no reluctance, recently become reluctant	5.8%	6.1%	3.8%
Always felt reluctance	33.2%	31.0%	12.3%
Other	1.5%	0.9%	1.1%

Q8: What are the merits of using second-hand, rental, repaired goods and services? (Sample size=594, those interested, multiple answer)

Better on the environment that throwing stuff away after use	37.4%
Can feel I’m just trying the items out	34.5%
Can get better goods for the same price as buying new items	30.1%
Easy to sell on. throw away when I get bored with it	20.0%
Easy to buy stuff I won’t use for long, such as children’s clothes	16.7%
Get attached to goods	14.8%
Easy to alter the item to the way I prefer	9.1%
Can hear opinions from the person who used it before	5.9%
Has character	4.0%
Can share my values with friends, family	3.2%
Cool to have something no-one else has	1.9%
Other	4.5%
Nothing in particular	15.9%

Q9: What worries, dissatisfactions do you have with second-hand, rental, repaired goods and services? (Sample size=594, those interested, multiple answer)

Poorer quality than new items	41.6%
Worried not know who has used it before	40.2%
Problems with guarantee, repairs, other aftercare	32.0%
Awkward to search for	25.1%
Feel someone else’s presence on the item	21.5%
Don’t know where they are sold	16.0%
Dissatisfied with the feeling of getting value	12.1%
As it’s already old. worried that I won’t look after the item	8.2%
Can’t, awkward to repair myself	6.7%
Bad feeling when I think of it being second-hand	3.0%
Other	1.2%
Nothing in particular	14.8%