Retail

While print media is still popular among seniors, more and more seniors are using the internet, smartphones, and social media to stay connected...

It may be easy to think that the most relevant stakeholder in UX research is the end user. When it comes to creating...

Qualitative research methods such as ethnography, in-depth interviews and focus groups are well suited to elicit unexpected insights into a culture other than...

With everything available at the click of the mouse, shopping centers have been dying a slow death. Unable to offer consumers the same...

You may have heard that the Japanese market, despite being the third biggest economy in the world, is past its prime. But with a...

While September is viewed as the start of the school year in the US. Japan’s school year starts in April, and my eldest...

Those of us who have lived in Japan for some time will often marvel at how quickly and definitely the seasons change. One...

There’s no polite way of saying it. It seems to me lately that Japan is turning into a nation of cheapskates. But, truth...

At Decks Mall in Tokyo’s Odaiba there is a whole floor devoted to an attraction called Daiba Itchome Shoutengai. That precinct of the...

Retailers of all types are having to work harder to attract and hold consumers’ attention in the “real” versus “virtual” worlds, as consumers...

Given that the market for luxury in Japan has been shrinking in recent years, Hankyu’s decision to double down by opening a luxury...

At the beginning of last year, I predicted a “perfect marketing storm” in terms of the rapid evolution of both distribution channels and...