We have a lot of profitable products in Japan. We also have products whose profits are gradually declining. We are currently testing new products. Although the unit volume is much lower than that in the United States, the good thing is that the Japanese station is still relatively easy to get started in operation compared to other stations. Because compared with the US station, the operating space of the Japanese station is much smaller. Maybe the sellers who have operated it are more able to understand that many softwares are not available, and many big operations outside the station can not be operated.
Many friends suggested that I would like to know more about our experience in operating the Japanese station. Next, I will use two articles to share selection inspiration and operation points.
Guide to this article:
Japan is the fourth largest e-commerce market in the world after China, the United States and the United Kingdom, with online shopping accounting for 80.3% in 2018 (data from statista). In Japan’s online shopping platform, judging from last year’s data, the biggest sales in addition to the local Rakuten is Amazon. But Rakuten actually includes other businesses such as hotel and air ticket reservations, so Amazon’s sales in Japan can be seen.
But despite this, offline shopping stores in Japan are actually more convenient, and most of the products and food consumers who require quality or need to try out prefer to buy offline. Everyone is looking forward to some cheap products online. What we need to pay attention to here is that similar to storage products, these Japanese are very good at offline stores that can be purchased at low prices. Everyone should avoid them online, which may cause the shipping price to be inverted .
In terms of age, Japanese middle-aged and elderly people have stronger spending power . There is a piece of data on Japanese women’s shopping. 76% of women aged 20-29 shop online, compared with 93% of those aged 40-49. And 27.7% of all people in Japan are over 65 years of age and have entered an ultra-aging society. These middle-aged and elderly people are proficient in operating smartphones and computers and have more disposable income. Therefore, it is recommended that you position the age of consumer portraits at about 35-50 years old. If you have the right product, you can also look at products around the age of 65.
A.Bath culture
Almost every home in Japan has a bathtub, and every time you clean your body, you will relax in the bath. When taking a bath, they prefer to sit on a small stool. Similar to this kind of bath stool, you can search at the front desk. Different ages and different needs (such as anti-slip and rest properties for the elderly) have different products, which can be used as inspiration for expansion. .
When children are young, they usually bathe with their father, regardless of boys or girls. If you’ve seen the cherry balls, everyone will find that they often put a bath towel on her father’s head and take a bath while chatting. In the process, the child cultivated a deep relationship with his father, so Father’s Day is also a very important festival in Japan, and related gift purchases are also a small climax.
B. Backpack culture
Everyone in Japan has a backpack, and they carry different kinds of bags for different occasions. For example, go to school to carry a schoolbag, date to carry a stylish shoulder bag, housewife carry a child to carry a mummy bag.
Ladies’ bags are not mentioned here, girls are always cured, and competition is high. Men’s bags are mentioned here. Take a bag I made before as an example.
I was making a tactical backpack at the time, which could be carried cross-body and portable, had a wide range of functions, and could hold a computer. But the competition for keywords is not fierce. Although the sales volume is not high, the profit is OK. In terms of color, we must avoid being fancy . My black bag was much better than the other two colors.
In addition, according to their culture, backpacks are best equipped with a space for cups, because it is said that the Japanese do not like to drink water while walking, or hold a drink bottle, and like to stop and drink water and put it in a bag; or Comes with a grid where you can put your garbage at hand. Some garbage that is not convenient to throw away is put in your bag and taken home.
The angle shared here is to inspire everyone to discover products and keywords with other functional attributes, other products with high popularity, but large profit margins.
C. Pet types and commemorative forms
On the one hand, due to room size restrictions, and on the other hand, due to personality reasons, cats in Japan are particularly many. Cats have a very high status in Japan. Many elderly people have cats at home all year round . The pet dogs are mostly small dogs in the pet products we have to note that the United States stop the product is no longer suitable for large dogs synchronized to the Japanese.
After the death of the pet, some people will make some similar offerings to commemorate it. It is usually a pet photo, plus a small Buddha statue. In the past two years, I have also researched pet cinerary caskets . On the basis of the basic box, plus special uses will greatly increase profit margins. You can follow this line of thought and investigate products with similar attributes.
In addition, you can also keep some rare pets in Japan , such as owls, and learn about the surrounding supplies.
D. Gift giving culture
We can see in Japanese dramas that the Japanese often give each other gifts, prepare various small gifts for various festivals, meet friends, and even move to neighbors. The value of small gifts is generally low, but very frequent.
It should be noted here that there are two products that should not be defined as attributes of gifts , one is a comb and the other is a handkerchief, because the comb sounds close to death and is relatively taboo. The Japanese pronunciation of handkerchiefs is easy to associate with fate. In terms of taboos, there is also a clearer lotus, which is considered to be a lost flower in Japan.
From this perspective, you can diverge some peripheral products. For example, some small gifts are homemade, and the surrounding tools can be examined.
E. Clothing culture
Japanese people have different clothes on different occasions, and they are more mature in fashion. Workplace clothes are very formal, and shirts don’t wear patterns. Here you can pay attention to the work clothes of the elderly. Because of the aging, many elderly people are still working. For example, some taxi drivers also wear suits, ties and white gloves.
I participated in an exhibition last year and met a women’s clothing manufacturer specializing in the Japanese station. All the clothing is pure color and the style is very special. For example, the trouser legs are generally very wide. Here I would like to remind everyone that the selection must not be subjective based on self-preferences , because personally, I definitely don’t like this type of clothing.
At the same time, if you are still a novice Xiaobai, it is best not to get involved in the category of clothing and shoes , a large number of SKUs will make your operational difficulty skyrocketing. Several classmates I know ended up clearing at a low price.
F. Other peripheral products
(1) Around bicycle
We know that many people in Japan also ride bicycles, so you can look at the data of surrounding products, such as different material baskets.
(2) Around the rental house
In Japan, most young people rent a house. The products around the rental house can be expanded, such as products that can be easily removed without leaving traces and improve the aesthetics of the interior; or products that are easy to handle, not easily broken and can improve the quality of life.
(3) Other
For some of the most popular products, everyone must pay attention to the data and combine their actual conditions. Don’t feel hot, you can do it yourself. Umbrellas, for example, are very popular products in Japan. Umbrellas are used by Japanese people all year round, including long-handled umbrellas. They prefer to support long-handled umbrellas when it is raining. Folding umbrellas are usually kept in the bag for backup and shading. But there are so many sellers of this kind of product, as a newbie, it is difficult to grab a cup.
Another example is the recent hot masks. Even if you can get the supply and can be put on the shelf, it may not be possible to avoid being removed and titled by Amazon due to qualifications or some unforeseen reasons.