[Hakuhodo DY Holdings] Calculate the “Inbound Forecast Index” that shows Chinese consumers’ desire to visit Japan in three months’ time The August inbound forecast index was 83.2 points, a slight increase from June last year, and there are signs that purchasing appetite is picking up.
*Hakuhodo DY Holdings*
Press release: August 16, 2024
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Calculate the “Inbound Forecast Index” that shows Chinese consumers’ desire to visit Japan in three months.The August Inbound Forecast Index was 83.2 points, a slight increase from June last year, and there are signs that purchasing desire is picking up.
* Marketing Technology Center (hereinafter referred to as “Marketing Technology Center”), the research and development division of Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masayuki Mizushima)
MTC) and Solid, the advertising division of Meituan, a life service online search platform in the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as China).
Bit jointly conducted the “Inbound Forecast Survey (3rd Round)” targeting Chinese consumers. *
* -Summary of survey results-*
●The inbound forecast index for August is 83.2 points. * Slight increase from the previous June 2023 (81.1 points), especially for those who have visited Japan once, an increase of +9.4 points from the previous time*
This shows that there is a growing desire to visit again.
●As for the purpose of visiting Japan, among those who have visited Japan, “experiencing high-end restaurants,” “watching stage
performances/music,” “skiing/snowboarding,” “watching sports,” and “medical treatment/checkups” rose by more than 5 points, indicating that Even more*
There is also a tendency for special experiences to be sought. ●In terms of intention to visit Japan, “enjoying shopping” increased by 17.3 points compared to “enjoying various experiences,” accounting for more than half of the respondents.
A pick-up in purchasing interest* is expected.
●When shopping*, over 60% of respondents think that “being a Japanese brand is a deciding factor in my purchase.”*
* ■China has the highest amount of travel spending by foreigners visiting Japan, and China also has the highest amount of shopping expenses among foreigners visiting Japan*
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the cumulative number of visitors to Japan for the January-June period of 2024 was 17,777,200, more than 1 million more than the record high for the same period in 2019. By country/region, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and the United States have the highest number of foreign visitors, in that order, and of these, the number of foreign visitors from China is approximately 3.07 million, which is approximately 68% compared to the same period in 2019 (*1). On the other hand, looking at the amount of travel expenditure by foreign visitors to Japan for the April-June period of 2024 by nationality and region, China has the largest amount at 442 billion yen (composition ratio 20.7%). Separately, “shopping costs” are the highest in China (*2), and it continues to be an important issue for Japanese companies to understand the actual situation, such as the desire and awareness of Chinese consumers to visit Japan.
* ■Focusing on the shopping awareness and behavior of Chinese consumers regarding Japanese brands, mainly everyday consumer goods* The “Inbound Forecast Survey”, which has been conducted since last year, is conducted by Solid, the advertising department of MTC and “Meituan”.
As part of Bit’s ongoing joint research, we are using big data from the lifestyle information platform “Taifu Tenpei” owned by Meituan. In the third survey, we calculated the “Inbound Forecast Index” that shows Chinese consumers’ desire to visit Japan three months from now, as well as the purpose of visiting Japan and their intention to visit Japan. We focused on the shopping awareness and behavior of Chinese consumers regarding brands, and searched for hints for strengthening inbound-related businesses aimed at Chinese consumers in the future.
* -Survey results-*
* ●Inbound forecast index: *
Regarding Chinese consumers’ desire to visit Japan, we have calculated the “Inbound Forecast Index” as an index that clearly represents the feelings of Chinese consumers three months from the time of the survey, without considering the social environment or feasibility. * Inbound forecast index for August is 83.2 points*
(Surveyed in May 2024) This was a slight increase compared to the June 2023 inbound forecast index of 81.1 points (Surveyed in March 2023), indicating that the desire to visit Japan remains high. *
In particular, among those who have visited Japan once, there was an increase of 9.4 points compared to the previous survey, and overall the desire to revisit Japan among Chinese consumers who have visited Japan remains strong*.
* ●Purpose of visiting Japan: *
Among those who have visited Japan in the past, the reasons for their future visit to Japan are “Experiencing a high-end restaurant 73.0%” “Enjoying popular cuisine 70.0%” “Bathing in a hot spring 68.5%” “Staying at an inn 66.8%” “Experiencing the four seasons 66.8% ” “Tourism at natural/scenic spots 66.0%” exceeded “shopping” 60.2%, still*
The result was a focus on experience*.
Furthermore, when compared to previous visits to Japan, “73.0% wanted to experience a high-end restaurant,” “22.7% wanted to watch a stage show or listen to music,” “22.5% skied or snowboarded,” “13.1% watched sports,” and 9.9% wanted to receive medical treatment or medical checkups. has increased by 5 points or more, *
There was also a trend of increasing interest in special experiences rather than general ones. *
Q. What have you done on your trips to Japan so far? (Multiple answers) Q. What do you want to do when you travel to Japan in the future? (Multiple answers)
*●Awareness of visiting Japan:*
When comparing the results of the second survey to find out which of the two items is more important when considering future visits to Japan, it was found that while the number of points for “shopping” decreased on an overall basis among the reasons for visiting Japan, “a variety of experiences” 43.6% enjoy*
“56.4% enjoy shopping”* increased by 17.3 points to more than half of the respondents, showing signs of a relative recovery in purchasing intent*.
In addition, while 60.1% explored places they had never been before, 39.9% revisited places they had already been.
7.3 points, compared to 24.3% who enjoy historical buildings and ruins* and 75.7% who enjoy natural scenery*
, “74.4% enjoy Japanese traditional culture”* while “25.6% enjoy Japanese pop culture”* also increased by 6.5 points.*
It is thought that it is necessary to devise an experience design that captures this change in consciousness. *
Q. When traveling to Japan in the future, please answer each of the following questions, choosing the answer that most closely matches your feelings. (single answer for each)
*The results of the 2nd and 3rd surveys are displayed on the graph. *A is the sum of “I place a lot of emphasis on A,” “I place importance on A,” and “I place more emphasis on A.”
B is the sum of “I place a lot of emphasis on B,” “I place importance on B,” and “I place more emphasis on B.”
* ●Shopping awareness towards Japanese brands:*
When shopping for everyday consumer goods (FMCG), over 60% of Chinese consumers consider Japanese brands to be a deciding factor in their purchase. The reasons why they said so were objectively “because I think the quality is good and reliable” (51.4%), “50.5% because I saw good reviews and word of mouth”, and “48.6% because the quality is good for the price”. The results were high at approximately 50% in both cases. In addition, over 30% of respondents answered “Because I love Japan” (31.5%) as an emotional connection.*
This indicates that the importance of providing information and experiences to help people fall in love with the country of Japan and Japanese brands is increasing. *
Q. Why is being a Japanese brand a deciding factor when you are hesitant or unsure about buying something? (Multiple answers) * ●Shopping behavior towards Japanese brands:*
Regarding behavior related to shopping for Japanese brands, mainly consumer goods (FMCG), “proxy purchasing” was the highest at 44.6%, and “I have seen a list of things to buy in Japan” (34.6%). %” This is followed by 30.3% who shop through social commerce, and a small number of respondents who shop at meta-commerce at 6.1% or consult AI about shopping at 5.3%.*
It was confirmed that the diversification of behavioral patterns is accelerating. *
Q. Please indicate which of the following you have done for Japanese brands. Please select as many as apply. (Multiple answers)
Going forward, MTC will continue to regularly conduct “inbound forecast surveys” and promote full-funnel marketing across the Japan-China cross-border for Japanese companies and organizations considering entering inbound business and local business in China. I’m coming.
(*1) Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) “Number of foreign visitors to Japan (estimated as of June 2024)”
https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/press/20240719_monthly.html
(*2) Source: Japan Tourism Agency “Inbound Consumption Trend Survey Survey Results for April-June 2024 (1st preliminary report)” https://www.mlit.go.jp/kankocho/news02_00013.html
* -3rd Survey Overview: August Inbound Forecast Survey-*
・Survey target cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen ・Survey target: Men and women between the ages of 20 and 49
*Users of the lifestyle information platform “Taifu Tenhyo” while traveling overseas between 2023 and February 2024
・Number of samples: 511 people in total
・Survey period: March 23, 2024 to May 5, 2024
・Research method: Internet survey using mini program
・Research organization: Beijing Yunjioliang Math Science and Technology Co., Ltd.