Japanese visitors still want to spend
By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i may be missing out on as much as $150 million in Japanese spending a year, according to a recent survey by Dentsu Tec Hawaii Inc.
Dentsu Tec Hawaii, an advertising firm and subsidiary of Dentsu Japan Inc., surveyed 167 departing Japanese visitors at the airport here about their spending habits. The survey, conducted April 19, found that on average, the visitors still had $126 each that they wanted to use.
If 80 percent of the 1.5 million Japanese visitors to Hawai'i each year return home with this money, it amounts to $150 million or more in spending that the Islands could be capturing.
Those involved in conducting and analyzing the survey are careful to explain that it is not a long-term study. Yet it is the first attempt to challenge common assumptions that Japanese visitors to Hawai'i are spending less than they used to.
While some retailers who cater to Japanese clientele have been hard hit recently, the results indicate that Japanese visitors are still buying expensive name-brand items. Of those surveyed, 68 percent said they had purchased high-end European products while in the Islands.
"They have money and they want to use it," said Katsumi Tanaka, chief executive of Asian Pacific Advisors Inc. "That's what we believe." Despite the weak economy, an estimated $17 trillion remains in savings accounts in Japan, said Tanaka.
Statistics from the state support Dentsu's findings. Japanese visitors remain the highest spenders on a daily basis at $270 per person for the first quarter of this year, a 27.1 percent increase from the same time last year, according to figures released yesterday by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
But Dentsu, which conducted the survey for the express purpose of providing information to the 184 companies participating in the 18-month-old Aloha Miles program, hopes to learn from the results.
The market for mid-priced products is disappearing in Japan. That behavior is reflected in visitors who want the best value and are willing to pay a high price for it.
Because 35 percent of those surveyed said they came to Hawai'i to shop, it suggests that businesses need to become more innovative and offer high-quality products. In Japan, for example, kaiten sushi has become less expensive, but the quality remains high, displays often change and new items are continually added to the menu to attract customers.
By contrast, Hawai'i restaurants and businesses present few such innovative ideas. In their quest for omiyage — gifts to take home with them — survey participants complained about no variation from the standard macadamia nuts and coffee.
The survey also noted how different the Japanese consumer has become.
Five years ago, products in Hawai'i could not be found in Japan. The Internet and an influx of new business in Japan have changed that.
Consumers now compare prices and will buy a Louis Vuitton monogrammed handbag when it's $100 cheaper in Hawai'i, or a Bulgari watch, which can be $450 cheaper.
Dentsu Tec said it plans to continue its surveys periodically .
