The changing face of wireless in Japan

Japan is at the forefront of mobile technology. The country has roughly 88.5 million mobile phone subscribers in a population of just over 127 million. Over 83% of people aged 15-64 own a browser-enabled mobile phone and around 70 million people use it to access the wireless Internet on a regular basis.

But the mobile phone is becoming more than just a portable telephone. According to recent surveys, 91% of users email and/or access the mobile Internet every day, and virtually no one uses cell phones solely for phone calls*. Even the Japanese police are gradually replacing their radio system with mobile phones.

Unsurprisingly, Japanese companies are now thinking of ingenious ways to integrate this new medium into their consumer services. Smart cards such as Sony’s Edy e-money have recently begun to be used for purchases at retail outlets. NTT DoCoMo phones equipped with the FeliCa system can automatically pay for purchases at local convenience stores that have FeliCa-compliant cash registers. By holding the phone up to the reader on the cash register, the amount is deducted from the prepaid amount charged on the their Edy account.

Cmode vending machine by Coca-Cola

At one of Coca Cola’s new Cmode vending machines, a thirsty Tokyoite, possessing a new DoCoMo phone equipped with the FeliCa service and a rechargeable, contactless IC chip, can now buy drinks by merely holding the phone up to a sensor. They can also purchase standby screens, ring tones, and games at the machines.

Mobile phones are also having an impact upon transportation. Swipeable Suica smart cards, issued by JR East (the East Japan Railway Company), already make traveling in metropolitan Tokyo quite efficient. However by 2005, commuters with the Mobile Suica service will be able to enter the station ticket gates simply by holding their phone up to a reader. Similarly passengers with All Nippon Airways can use their phones for check-in on international flights.

Not so long ago, manufacturers discovered that with a slight alteration, the tiny digital cameras in cell phones could be turned into digital scanners. With the advent of 2-dimensional bar codes called QR (Quick Response) codes, the mobile phone can now scan and instantly record double-byte data encrypted in the QR format. This is capable of storing up to 100 times more information than a standard bar code.

The Jusco supermarket chain in Japan recently implemented a QR code system in their 260 Japan outlets. Consumers with 3G mobile phones can scan the QR codes printed on vegetable packages and receive information about the contents, such as where it was grown and what insecticides and fertilizers were used. Don’t know how to cook it? Not a problem, because some codes even contain recommended recipes.

Other innovations include fuel-cell powered mobile phones, mobile phones capable of receiving terrestrial digital TV broadcasts and mobile phones with advanced navigation functions using GPS (Global Positioning System).

The ubiquitous nature of mobile phones is also helping market researchers. In a recent test, a mobile survey was conducted alongside a telephone survey. Within 3 hours of the initial email, almost 60% of the recipients had replied and completed the survey. This far outperformed the parallel telephone survey, where only a completion rate of only 10% was achieved among outbound contacts. Quick response rates have also been advantageous when doing time-sensitive research, such as surveying respondents barely minutes after a television commercial has aired, or in gathering information for foods products just after the mealtime. Additionally, as more mobile phones are equipped with location-seeking functions, mobile research offers the ability for location-specific targeting.

But it’s marketers who are already putting this new m-Power to work.

An example is Tabemo. Tabemo facilitates a value exchange between restaurants and their customers by providing time and location dependent coupons.

Consumers are recruited, as dining club members through their phones, while visiting the participating restaurants. Using devices that plug into their phones they can instantaneously opt into to the club. For a fee, these new members then receive coupons sent to the mobile phones as pictures. These can be used to get substantial discounts according to the needs of the restaurants to fill seats at certain times and locations. The result: a win-win situation for both consumers and vendors.

In today’s Japan we are seeing the mobile phone move beyond its original use as a means of voice communication. The new all-in-one mobile phone is a computer, a TV, a wallet and much, much more. Now the challenge is for marketers to harness this emerging wireless power and develop new ways of doing business with their mobile customers.

* See “Wireless surveys: A powerful addition to the market research toolbox" by Vanessa Oshima, JMI. Published by Esomar in "Excellence in International Research 2003” Also article:

http://www.jmintelligence.co.jp/research_in_japan/research_anytime.html