Price of Christmas cakes in Japan rises by avg $3.70 vs 2021
TOKYO -- This holiday season, Christmas cakes may seem more expensive than in previous years. In fact, a survey comparing cakes sold at confectionaries and grocery stores nationwide puts the average price up by over 10% compared to the same period just two years ago.
The survey of 100 companies including department stores selling the holiday treats pinned the latest average cost of a size 5 cake (with a diameter of 15 centimeters) at 4,468 yen (about $31.15), up 325 yen (roughly $2.25), or 7.8%, from last year and 529 yen (approx. $3.70), or 13.4%, from 2021.
Ideas:
Whenever I would go to Sogo department store, at Yokohama station, as you enter Sogo is seems like its noting but confectionary places on the first floor. There first floor is confectionary places, other places selling bento boxes or take out lunch or dinner sets, and in the back is the grocery store area
But when I went there in Jan. of this year, there were just as many customers buying things as before, It didn't seem like the higher prices, at least in Sogo, for customers buying things.
My partner and I did buy a cake, for a friend's family, and the price was more than before when we bought the same cake the year earlier.
The Xmas or New Year holiday season is an important time for Japanese gift giving, not so much for Xmas but year end gift giving is an important relationship activity in Japan.
Article:
The main factors behind the price increases are thought to be the more Christmassy mood amid the coronavirus pandemic's remission and price hikes on ingredients used to bake the items.
Since 2022, 81 of the 100 companies have raised their prices, with 20 pushing them up by at least 500 yen (some $3.50), nine in the 400-yen range (from around $2.80 to $3.50), 18 in the 300-yen range (from about $2.10 to $2.50) and 14 by under 200 yen (about $1.40). Many of those with the 500-yen-plus increases were selling cakes in the 4,000-to-5,000-yen range (from around $28 to $42), such as department stores and confectionaries.
Ideas:
For many years, if not decades, Japanese companies were reluctant to increase prices with the idea of losing customers. But now, as raw material prices continue to increase and profit margins of companies continue to decrease companies now have no choice but to increase prices.
And it makes it easier if all companies within a specific sector, such as those in the confectionary sector increasing prices, it become easier for a company to do the same thing.
Of course now that the pandemic has ended maybe more people are in a Christmassy mood and want to buy things to give to family and friends, like everywhere in the world.
Maybe during the Christmas and New Year Holiday period, people forget, somewhat about inflation and the increase in prices and just buy, within reason, what they want and need.
Article:
The cost of cake ingredients such as eggs, sugar and milk shot up by over 20% this year amid price hikes on over 30,000 food items. Additionally, this summer's blazing heat has pushed strawberry prices up by as much as 50%. Aside from ingredients, the cost of packaging materials and utilities has also gone up, affecting cake prices.
The survey was conducted by private credit research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd.
Ideas:
The prices of fruits and vegetables are subject to the growing season and the weather so maybe the extreme summer heat in Japan during the summer, which lasted well into October caused a reduction in the supply of strawberries.
Transportation costs and material cost increases all seem to have increased which means companies are passing-on their increased costs to the next in supply chain including the final customer.
No doubt as inflation continues on in Japan, many people after the Christmas or New Year period will reduce their spending as maybe they bought a lot during the holidays but now need to spend less.
Have a nice day and be safe!
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