A hot topic in Japan right now is rental fashion. Why bother owning the latest fashion when you can rent them for a month. The latest collection in your cupboard. What’s more if you like the items you can buy them at a 20% discount. Sounds great right?! Well several services offering unlimited borrowing for…
Details
LINE’s active number of users exceeded 37,000,000 domestically in December 2012. Japan’s total population is 126,650,000. It seems like a future where 1 out of 3 people in Japan will be on LINE is just around the corner. More than half of the user base is aged 10 – 20 years old. It is more…
Details
In June 2012, LINE started offering services for businesses, originally a messaging service it has grown into a fully fledged Japanese Social Media network. Lawson, the Japanese convenience chain giant, has always been Social Media savvy. And it’s not unusual for them to start something new before anyone else has tried it, such as when…
Details
According to the New York Times report, Twitter had a deal in place to buy Instagram for $525 million back in March — before the photo-sharing service’s CEO Kevin Systrom called the whole thing off. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ultimately acquired Instagram after pushing through a cash-and-stock deal just weeks before Facebook’s May initial public offering. The transaction closed in…
Details
According to a Nielsen publication released on the 10th of December, Android internet usage (time) per person in Japan is now more than on computers. The study carried out using live online questionnaires has confirmed the increasing influence of mobile. Android internet monthly usage time per person was 1,492 minutes (appx 25 hours), whereas monthly…
Details
I’ve found some interesting statistics published by NTT Data Lab on 15th of November. It shows why more than 60% of the businesses in Japan failed to see the result they expected from running Social Media Marketing. This study targeted businesses in Japan with more than 300 employees and also ones that operate smaller offices.…
Details
Japanese fashion retail giant, United Arrows (http://www.united-arrows.co.jp/index.html), started a campaign “US TRANSFORM SHOW” in November. At every United Arrows branch, the staff wearing a special “stylist badge” help customers transform completely in 10 mins. If you want their makeover, just pop by one of the branches and find staff with a special badge. You tell…
Details
When out for a shop, do you use your smartphone to search for products and services whilst in store? According to a study carried out by Hakuhodo DY Holdings, 67.1% of Smartphone users in Japan utilise their Smartphone to enhance their shopping experiences. 15.4% said that they use it often and 51.7% answered that they…
Details
Twitter has been tightening it’s rules around use of the Twitter API recently — and everyone has been wanting to know how this will effect third party businesses. NTT Data has now announced that they’ve signed a contract with US Twitter in regards to the re-selling of Tweet information. This contract was made to allow…
Details
GREE has announced that they will start a collaboration with VOYAGE GROUP who specialise widely in new media, advertising technology, research and venture capital. This is to further reinforce the company’s services in the Social Media field. GREE TV (Working title) As part of the collaboration, they will be developing something called “GREE TV (working…
Details