Convenience stores reported sales increases of 7.7% in March
If you needed proof that shopping really does make you feel better, look no further than post-earthquake Japan. An informal survey by a consumer brand consultancy one month on from the 3/11 quake and tsunami showed that although only a few people had increased their discretionary spend, 50% of those who had had done so to cheer themselves up.
Convenience stores reported sales increases of 7.7% in March as consumers stocked up on emergency necessities such as batteries, bottled water and instant noodles. Less obviously perhaps, sales of high-end consumer goods have bounced back quickly. The trend is particularly strong among buyers of luxury brands. Conversations with representatives of top UK brands in Japan – Daks, Dunhill, Paul Smith, Mackintosh – show that their sales all returned to pre-quake levels within 2 weeks.
Apparently this is a well-known phenomenon: after the Kobe earthquake in 1995 95% of the regular customers of Chanel’s destroyed Kobe store had been shopping at their branch in neighbouring Osaka within a week. Brand loyalties really do run deep!
