Price differentials

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Timing is crucial
Japan boasts a number of events that significantly impact shopping behaviour. Many of these are unique to the country. It is vital to understand Japanese culture and to build eCommerce marketing campaigns accordingly as doing this will drive sales.

Timing is crucial - koinobori

Christmas and Oseibo: Overlapping winter events that feature the giving of gifts to loved ones and people croatia mobile database who have shown kindness.

Ochuugen: A summer tradition where people present gifts to colleagues, bosses, and those close to them such as family and friends. Many workers receive summer bonuses which are often spent on luxury goods.

Hatsu-uri (New Year’s Sale): This is the first sale period of the year when many retailers release their Fukubukuro (happy bags or lucky bags) filled with a range of heavily discounted products.

Shichi-Go-San: A Japanese festival that takes place on November 15. It celebrates the well-being of boys who are three and five years old, and of girls who are three and seven years old.

Golden Week and Children’s Day: Golden Week is a popular holiday week for locals. It is a time when Japanese people like to shop and sometimes invest in gifts for loved ones.

Valentine's Day and White Day: Events during which Japanese people give presents to their romantic partners.

In addition to these national holidays and event, numerous local festivals and events provide excellent opportunities to increase sales and should certainly inform both marketing campaigns and web content in the Japanese market.



Japanese shoppers often expect online prices to be lower than those in physical stores. While online shopping is growing, many Japanese consumers still favour shopping in person. This has led retailers to offer cheaper prices online to entice potential customers, thus creating an expectation of lower prices. In addition, Japanese consumers are frequent users of price comparison platforms such as Kakaku and this has ensured that online pricing remains incredibly competitive. Online pricing has also been influenced by resale platforms including Yahoo! Auctions and Mercari.

Almost half of all products in Japan have lower prices online and this is a serious consideration for brands when localising their ecommerce sites.