What high-end Chinese shoppers buy in Tokyo: Japanese cosmetics and beauty products, niche brands, luxury items – and lots of them
No longer simply binge buyers, Chinese shoppers in Tokyo have become more deliberate and savvy about their shopping, favouring unique Japanese brands and quality international luxury items – and always looking for a bargain
As the number of international tourists visiting Japan continues to rise, the country’s retail industry has been given a boost by overseas shoppers, particularly those from China. To better cater to this group of powerful consumers, many stores and shopping centres in Japan, especially those in Tokyo, have begun hiring Chinese- and English-speaking staff.
While there was previously a stereotype of Chinese shoppers in Japan binge buying piles of seemingly random products, retail staff say that today’s consumers have become more careful and deliberate about their shopping.
Shiei Kimura, originally from Hong Kong, has been in Japan for 28 years, the past 12 of which she has spent working for the flagship Isetan store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. First providing service to international customers at the store’s tax free counter, she now works in VIP customer service, helping the high-spending foreign customers who have become more common in recent years. Each day she is sent to different sections of the store to provide Chinese or English interpretation and other services to these customers.
“Some time ago in Tokyo there were more English-speaking customers than Chinese-speaking customers,” Kimura says. “Some were from Europe, the US and Southeast Asia, places like Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. And when they come here, they always look for souvenirs to take back to their home countries. But now we see thousands of Chinese customers, and they are coming in groups, always in big numbers. And they are searching everywhere – we can see them in every floor of the store.”
Kimura says that the product categories that most seem to interest Chinese customers are cosmetics, watches, Japanese and international luxury products. This is consistent with department store sales data from recent years.
