Changes in Consumer Needs, Preferences and Demand for New Products

「Although there was some reluctance to purchase certain home appliances against a backdrop of higher prices, information appliances such as PCs and mobile phones performed well, and sales in the Housing and Construction segment increased. As a result, we expect performance to be broadly in line with the previously announced forecast.」

「While televisions and other products performed sluggishly, air conditioners performed steadily in response to the extreme heat. PCs and mobile phones, for which replacement demand was rising ahead of the end of Windows10 support, also drove the market, and performance was generally steady.」

「While consumers continued to favor saving in their daily lives amid higher prices, lower real wages and declining disposable income, high-value-added products such as energy-efficient drum-type washing machines and air conditioners remained firm, supported by the recovery trend in personal consumption and weather-related factors.」

「The main factors were: ① declining demand for durable consumer goods, including home appliances, due to stronger consumer awareness of the need to protect household finances as prices rose, real wages declined and disposable income fell; ② the decline in stay-at-home demand; and ③ a shift in consumer spending toward leisure and services as movement recovered from the pandemic and the economy normalized, together with a decline in customer traffic at home-appliance retailers」

「Consumer spending centered on leisure, services and other areas, while customer traffic generally trended downward across the industry.」

「Sales during the first quarter of the current consolidated fiscal year remained challenging due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine from the previous fiscal year and the effects of consumers refraining from purchasing durable consumer goods as awareness of the need to protect household finances rose amid higher prices.」

「Declining demand due to stronger consumer awareness of the need to protect household finances as prices rose and other factors」

「③ Declining demand for durable consumer goods due to stronger consumer awareness of the need to protect household finances as prices rose and real wages declined」

「Declining demand due to higher selling prices, particularly for durable consumer goods」

「In the home-appliance retail industry, there was a decline in stay-at-home demand generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a stronger consumer preference for saving as awareness of the need to protect household finances rose, shortages of some products and higher costs associated with surging crude oil prices, among other factors, while」

「By product category, there was an increase in average selling prices from the shift toward energy-efficient, high-function, high-priced and larger products. However, most products fell below the previous year, including large consumer electronics such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, cooking appliances, personal-care appliances, and household appliances such as air purifiers and humidifiers.」

「By product category, there was an increase in average selling prices from the shift toward energy-efficient, high-function, high-priced and larger products. However, most products fell below the previous year, including large consumer electronics such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, cooking appliances, personal-care appliances, and household appliances such as air purifiers and humidifiers.」

「In addition, changes in consumers' lifestyles and increasingly diverse purchasing behavior have affected consumption trends. As conditions change rapidly and uncertainty increases, innovative management with a focus on the future, unconstrained by conventional concepts, is required.」

「Consumers' preference for saving remains strong as awareness of the need to protect household finances rises, and conditions remain challenging due to intensifying competition across industries and business formats. In addition, changes in consumers' lifestyles and increasingly diverse purchasing behavior have affected consumption trends」

「Furthermore, changes in consumers' lifestyles and increasingly diverse purchasing behavior have affected consumption trends. In some industries, pronounced selectivity has slowed short-term replacement demand, while high-priced products have grown in others, resulting in rapidly changing conditions and increasing uncertainty」

「In addition, changes in consumers' lifestyles and increasingly diverse purchasing behavior have affected consumption trends. In some industries, pronounced selectivity has slowed short-term replacement demand, while high-priced products have grown in others, resulting in rapidly changing conditions」

「Across the retail industry, consumers' persistent preference for saving, changes in lifestyles and increasingly diverse purchasing behavior have affected consumption trends.」

「To maintain and increase sales and profits, we must forecast products that match consumer needs and preferences, secure sufficient quantities of those products and make them available.」