The Potential for Expanded Consumption in Services

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the consumer mind using the results of the 2005 survey on Japanese citizens conducted by METI. According to C&RT (Classification and Regression Trees) results, the following findings and implications were uncovered: 1) There is still a lot of room for growth in service-related consumption; 2) There are strong leisure, health and medical needs among those 60 years old and older; 3) Leisure needs are conspicuous among upper-income earners, and there is still a high potential for leisure consumption even if the service contents remain at the status quo; 4) Conversely, health and medical needs are strong for lower-income earners, signifying that high-income earners do not require any more, and that the growth of this area is limited unless the quality of services improve; 5) So far as new services are concerned, cultural perceptions and values such as anticipations for the next generation will have a stronger influence on determining spending attitudes than basic characteristics such as age and family structure. The potential for future economic growth in Japan lies in a long-term strategy for expanding service-related consumption demand.