Ekiten Research Institute, a research and development division for small and medium-sized businesses operated by Design One Japan Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Yasuo Takabatake, TSE First Section 6048), recently conducted a "2021 Coming-of-Age Day Trend Survey" among business operators of beauty salons, hair salons, photo studios, and photo studios across Japan. We are pleased to report the results.
31.6% of stores responded that reservations for Coming of Age Day have "decreased compared to last year." In addition, many local governments have yet to decide on a policy, with some postponing or canceling ceremonies, and others holding them online, and 35.6% of stores responded that they "don't know."
■ Survey outline
Survey name: Survey on trends regarding Coming of Age Day 2021
Target audience: Store managers and sales promotion personnel nationwide who operate beauty salons, hair salons, photo studios, and photo studios listed on the store review and ranking site "Ekiten"
Number of responses: 320 stores
Survey period: April 4, 2020 to May 7, 2020
Survey method: Internet survey
Research organization: Ekiten Research Institute (Design One Japan Co., Ltd.)
■ Survey results
[Beauty salons and hair salons: Please let us know your reservation status for January 11, 2021 (Coming of Age Day)]
When analyzing reservation status by category, 29.4% of beauty salons and hair salons responded that it was "the same as usual," slightly exceeding the number of stores that responded that it was "down from last year." Meanwhile, as of December 4th to 7th, when the survey was conducted, nearly 40% of stores responded that they were "unsure." With many local governments still undecided on their policies, with some postponing, canceling, or holding ceremonies online, it appears that many stores are unsure of when to expect reservations for things like dressing new adults and styling their hair.
Among the stores that responded that the number of customers had increased compared to last year, several cited the reason for the increase as "because many other stores have stopped offering kimono dressing services due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
[Photo studios: Please let us know the reservation status for January 11, 2021 (Coming of Age Day)]
Among stores that operate photo studios, only 27.1% responded that it was "the same as usual," while approximately 6% responded that it was "less than last year."
Amid the third wave of COVID-3, it is expected that many new adults are refraining from returning home after the New Year or taking commemorative photos with their families at photo studios.
[Please let me know the reservation status around January 11, 2021]
Anticipating that reservations would be spread out over the dates before and after Coming-of-Age Day rather than on the day itself to avoid crowds amid the COVID-1 pandemic, we asked about the reservation situation around January 11th, and more than 6% of stores responded that "the number of reservations has decreased compared to last year."
Reservations for Coming of Age Ceremony in 2021 appear to be on the decline, including for the dates before and after.
What do you think is the reason for the decrease in reservations for Coming of Age Day compared to last year?
When stores that reported a decrease in reservations compared to last year were asked why, the most common answer was, "Many people are refraining from attending Coming-of-Age Ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic." Coming-of-Age Ceremonies are events that bring new adults from the local area together to listen to speeches by local government leaders and celebrities, catch up with classmates they haven't seen in a while at the venue, and hold reunions after the ceremony, providing many opportunities to interact with others, so it appears that people are refraining from attending Coming-of-Age ceremonies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
[Part of the free comments]
Below are some excerpts from the free comments for each question.
- We ask that people who have returned from areas where the infection is spreading refrain from visiting our salon. (Fukushima Prefecture/Hair salon)
- Sapporo City has canceled all its coming-of-age ceremonies (Hokkaido/Hair Salon)
- Since it was originally thought that the Coming of Age Ceremony would not be held, we thought it would be good to have at least some photos preserved, so we prepared several sets of furisode sets that included everything needed for dressing, partnered with a photo studio, and created a "special menu" that would allow people to have photos of their Coming of Age Ceremony. (Hokkaido/Hair Salon)
- If the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is not held and reservations are canceled, there will be no cancellation fee (Tokyo/Hair Salon)
*The composition ratios in the graphs are rounded to the second decimal place, so the total may not necessarily add up to 100.
*When publishing the contents and graphs of this survey in print, on video, on a website, etc., please clearly state that it was conducted by Ekiten Research Institute.
[Introduction to "Ekiten Online Reservation"]
"Ekiten Online Reservation" is an online reservation system that can be used by stores listed on Ekiten. If a store is listed on Ekiten and has set up online reservations, it is a convenient system that allows you to easily make reservations not only for relaxation and body care stores, but also for visits to nail salons, restaurants, trial lessons, and bouquet pickups at florists.
[About Ekiten Research Institute]
Ekiten, a store review and ranking site operated by Design One Japan Co., Ltd., lists information on approximately 505 million stores and facilities across all genres, including relaxation and body care, hair salons, clinics, and gourmet restaurants. Ekiten Research Institute conducts surveys of stores listed on Ekiten to identify and research trends and issues related to store operation and management for small and medium-sized businesses. *As of the end of August 2020.
[Inquiries regarding this matter]
Public Relations Officer, Design One Japan Co., Ltd.
TEL:03-6908-7820 FAX:03-6421-7463 Mail:pr@designone.jp