Target Insight '09-'10 Pre and Post-Bubble 
Published By: John on 01/02/10
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It was Marketing Eye‘s Asami Sunahara who pointed me to Target Insight ‘09-‘01, a Senden Kaigi publication for which she was one of the co-editors. The first major section deals with generational differences in Japanese consumers, looking at these differences in terms of pre and post-bubble coming of age, the magazines they read, and the products they made bestsellers. Here I translate a summary of results for coming of age before or after the Japanese bubble economy’s collapse in 1991.
The dividing line is age 36.
Pre-bubble is 37 or older
* Experienced a growing economy
* Learned to consume when things were getting better and better
Post-bubble is 36 or younger
* Came of age when Japanese society was already stagnant
* Learned to consume when things were stuck or getting worse
Basic Stance
Pre
* Upwardly mobile, want to be different
* Believe that hard work is rewarded
* Look to the future, long-term perspective
Post
* Want the same as others with whom they get along
* Do not believe that hard work is rewarded
* Focused on the present, mid to short-term perspective
Use of Time
Pre
* Don’t like to do nothing
* Want a full schedule
Post
* Want time to do nothing
* Like schedules with lots of empty spaces
Consumption Attitudes
Pre
* Want the latest, something better
* Want it all
* Using consumption to mark higher status at key moments of life
Post
* Want limited-time, seasonal, and just right for me
* Spend more on some things, less on others
* Treasure momentary encounters, want to be inspired
Fashion
Pre
* One-taste coordination
* Like what’s new
* Like brands
Post
* Re-mix items from different styles
* Like used and remake apparel
* Like “select” (idiosyncratic) items
Communication
Pre
* Want to be connected with society
* Enjoy communication with a wide variety of people
Post
* Want to be connected with a small group of friends
* Prefer comfortable, narrow worlds
Information Gathering
Pre
* Gather information from a wide variety of sources including mass media
* Find role models in magazines
* Give greater weight to face-to-face communication
Post
* Search the net to quickly find what they need
* Find role models in stores and people they know
* Give greater weight to word-of-mouth on the Net