Japan Household Spending:

 Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20230110/p2g/00m/0bu/009000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's household spending in November fell a real 1.2 percent from a year earlier for the first decline in six months, as warm temperatures dented demand for winter-related clothing and goods, the government said Tuesday.

Households of two or more people spent an average of 285,947 yen ($2,200), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. On a seasonally adjusted basis, spending declined a real 0.9 percent from October.

By category, spending on clothing and footwear dropped 9.3 percent, down for the first time in nine months, as warmer-than-usual weather weakened demand for winter clothes such as coats, a ministry official said.

Ideas:

Consumer spending always goes through seasonal periods and is subject to the weather as to what consumers always want to buy.

Its no surprise that the warmer temperatures might have reduced spending on winter-related clothing and goods.

So retail outlets probably had to use a lot of sales and or discounts to move their inventory because of the warmer weather.

You might think consumers would then take advantage of the sales to buy clothes for the future.

Article:

Outlays on furniture and household goods such as futon bedding dropped 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

Expenditure on food and beverage items including alcohol decreased 2.9 percent, affected by weakening demand for alcoholic drinks following their price hikes in October, the official said.

Meanwhile, spending on entertainment expanded 7.4 percent, as the soccer World Cup in Qatar held in November to December stirred purchases of new televisions and sportswear, according to the official.

Ideas:

There really no way to know just why some products see a decrease or even an increase sometimes other seasonal demand, inflation, and or other factors not known.

Perhaps as an example, the buying of furniture, household goods, and futons had been bought a lot before so the need to buy again what not so needed.

But a 2.9 percent decrease might be related to inflation and consumers decided not to buy so much related to some food and beverage items.

The Qatar World Cup seems like a long time ago but it was just the past fall, and it's not surprising  that consumers splurged on new televisions and sportswear, just like any major sporting event such as the Olympics or the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Article:

On a nominal basis, spending was up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, up for the eighth straight month, reflecting the impact of inflation.

Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of the country's gross domestic product.

Ideas:

The 3.2 percent increase in nominal spending, it should be remembered is not real spending but inflation related to inflation meaning inflation is included in the prices and spending levels.

If we take away nominal inflation what would have been the real spending over the eight month period.

Household spending or consumer spending, in Japan, never reaches the level of spending like in the US or even the EU, as Japanese consumers seem to be more conservative in their spending habits.

Of course that might be related to Japan now being an aged society and the aged tends to spend less that the younger generations.

But a recent survey showed that in Japan those in the 18 to 65 age groups spent as much or more as those on other advanced countries, but the problem is the 65+ age groups are becoming larger and spending less overtime.

Have a nice day and be safe!