Japan often is looked to as a hothouse for new consumer electronics trends, especially in mobile, that migrate to Europe and then to the United States. There is much truth to that observation, but it is harder to explain why that might be the case.
Some observers would say Japanese consumers actually behave differently from consumers in other parts of the world. Consider that while Japanese companies remain major global players in flat-panel televisions, digital cameras and videogame systems, they have almost no presence outside of Japan in personal computers, mobile phones or home appliances, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Some analysts say a good part of the reason is that Japanese buyers are detail-oriented and prefer products packed with features. Furthermore, they will read thick instruction manuals from cover to cover, and seem to prefer products made in Japan.
Most buyers outside of Japan expect new products to be simple and intuitive, and they are less concerned about a product's point of origin.
"The consumer in Japan thinks very differently than the global consumer," says Atul Goyal, an analyst at brokerage firm CLSA. "Once Japanese companies try to sell things to a global market, they need to understand how a global consumer reacts."
So it is something of a sea change that the Apple iPad seems to be resonating with Japanese consumers, as the iPad emphasizes ease of use.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Japanese Consumers Really Are Different
Labels:
Apple,
consumer electronics,
iPad,
mobile
Gary Kim has been a digital infra analyst and journalist for more than 30 years, covering the business impact of technology, pre- and post-internet. He sees a similar evolution coming with AI. General-purpose technologies do not come along very often, but when they do, they change life, economies and industries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What Declining Industry Can Afford to Alienate Half its Customers?
Some people believe the new trend of major U.S. newspapers declining to make endorsements in presidential races is an abdication of their “p...
-
We have all repeatedly seen comparisons of equity value of hyperscale app providers compared to the value of connectivity providers, which s...
-
It really is surprising how often a Pareto distribution--the “80/20 rule--appears in business life, or in life, generally. Basically, the...
-
Is there a relationship between screen size and data consumption? One might think the answer clearly is “yes,” based on the difference bet...
No comments:
Post a Comment