Tokyo through the eyes of a consumer, part 3

JMI's Consumer Vision Goggles

The retail business in Japan uses numerous channels to bring products to the ever-discerning Japanese consumer. In the case of the Skin Care market, typical outlets include Convenience Stores, Drug Stores, General Merchandising Stores, and Department Stores, among others.

Each outlet has it's own unique environment, each offering its own challenges for product communication. Strategies run the gamut, from colorful package designs and ingenious product displays, to flat-panel screens playing big-budget commercials and interactive demos. Some techniques even include taiko drumming and high-decibel promo lines delivered through a bullhorn by a flag-waving salesman.

In our continuing series, which looks at Japan through the eyes of a consumer, we will venture to 4 different retail environments in search of Skin Care products. We are able to do this using JMI's Consumer Vision Goggles (CVG). CVG is technology that JMI developed and uses to capture an individual's visual experience, as he or she moves through a marketing environment. For manufacturers and retailers CVG provides a realistic assessment of visibility of their products and advertisements as actually seen by consumers in the marketplace - in stores or at outdoor locations such as transit points.

Clip 1 - Convenience Store

Convenience Store The convenience store in Japan takes the word 'convenience' to an all-new level. While you buy that bar of chocolate, bottle of green tea, or sushi roll you can also pay your telephone bill, and buy a business shirt for the one you dropped soya sauce on at lunch! Convenience stores typically have wide window glass fronts, small space area and a good level of customer traffic. The limited space and large product range means our Skin Care product gets a small shelf arrangement next to the shirts and men's hair styling products.

Clip 2 - Drug Store

Drug Store The Japanese Drug store is a busy cramped store with a wider range of products. The products are accompanied by the use of promotional materials and testers. The Skin Care products are in a much more competitive environment with a wide variety of choice. Using baskets on the street directly in front of the store is a common ploy by the drugstores to catch the attention of passersby.

Clip 3 - GMS Store

GMS Store General Merchandising stores are unique in that they have staff and equipment capable of selling a large variety of products from a single store. They have a range of display equipment, and their staff is usually trained to provide service for many types of products. In GMS stores, the Skin Care category is often given its own floor section. The layout is spacious and each brand has its own area of the floor. Unlike the presentation of products in convenience stores and drug stores, by displaying the brand in its own display, as opposed to directly beside its competitors, the product is more easily able to draw attention.

Clip 4 - Department Store

Department Store Lastly, our consumer enters the chic and minimalist Department store. Our Skin Care products are displayed in a simple clear manner with a great deal of additional information available. The use of Flat Screen Televisions to show commercials, large posters, and a large number of assistants make the Skin Care purchase experience a very customer-oriented activity.

The real lesson from this is that for low-range to high-range Skin Care products, the packaging, layout and promotion all need to function effectively through a variety of channels. In particular, the diverse retail settings available in Japan present a highly competitive arena. Understanding the point of sale environment is crucial to developing strategies to make your product stand out.

More than just learning the floor plan and shelf layout, studying consumer behavior in each situation is essential. In the dense and congested shopping environments of Japan, product differentiation is a true challenge. Package design, presentation, promotional display, and store navigation usability all influence the consumer's motivation to buy. JMI's CVG technology provides the ability to study the behavior of a consumer from a first person visual perspective, enhancing the quality and depth of your market research.