Price of Christmas cakes in Japan rises by avg $3.70 vs 2021
Ideas:
Whenever I would go to Sogo department store, at Yokohama station, as you enter Sogo is seems like its noting but confectionery places on the first floor. There first floor is confectionery 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.
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 confectionery 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 Christmas 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.
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!
