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Mobile Marketing Research – Japan Market
Methodology
On behalf of Adobe, Advanis surveyed 1,000 adult consumers in Japan between January 2nd
and 10th
, 2019. All
consumers surveyed were required to own a smart phone. The survey explores the use of mobile devices for
a variety of activities, the use of small screen vs. large screen devices, and the use of voice assistance.
This survey was also conducted in the US, UK, France, Germany, ANZ (Australia & New Zealand), India, Brazil,
and Mexico. Full results are available at https://portal.advanis.net/adbe.
Highlights
• Computers are the most common technology device used by Japanese workers.
• When at home, Japanese men rely on a computer while women are more likely to rely on a
smartphone.
• Japanese consumers are most likely to disagree that they prefer to interact in person. They are twice as
likely to say this compared to other regions surveyed.
• Japanese consumers are much less likely than consumers from other regions to ‘constantly/frequently’
do some common activities on their smartphones – such as composing email, checking social media,
or listening to music.
• While Japanese customers are doing much more traffic monitoring/mapping than they were a few
years ago (more than many other regions), the growth in other activities, such as mobile banking,
scanning of documents, email, or touch ID, has only grown modestly over the past year or two.
• Only half of Japanese consumers feel that they can do all the retail activities that they want to on
mobile, significantly lower than many other regions.
• Women are generally more likely than men to use a smartphone to conduct retail activities, while
men rely on their computer.
• When asked how well marketers today give offers and information for the right product/service, at the
right time, only one quarter of Japanese consumers say most or lots of the offers they receive are right
for them – although this is high among the regions tested. Most say marketers are doing an ok job,
but there is room for improvement. Japanese are also the most likely to say they don’t want to be
bothered by receiving offers - they find them intrusive.

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• Japanese customers are largely indifferent on the use of a mobile browser or mobile app for most
activities.
• Two-thirds of Japanese consumers never or rarely use voice commands to speak to their devices – at
12%, they are half as likely as consumers in other regions to do so.

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Typical Daily Usage:
Work Usage
During the work/school day, computers are the most common technology device used by Japanese workers,
while one quarter of the workday is completed with no device usage.
Virtually all Japanese workers (84%) have a work issued computer, but only 1 in 5 use it often for personal
activities.
Home Usage
Japanese are equally likely, when at home, to rely on a computer or a smartphone. But this is driven by
strong gender differences - men in Japan are much more likely than women to own a variety of technology
devices, particularly computers, tablets, gaming consoles, and smart devices. When at home, men are more
likely to rely on a desktop/laptop (59%), while women rely on their smartphone (55%). Fewer differences by
age emerge.
The majority of Japanese consumers use more than one device at the same time either constantly (20%) or
frequently (36%). Millennials are more likely to frequently or constantly use multiple devices at once.
Device Preferences for Online Activities
With the exception of planning a workout and composing an email, Japanese (particularly women and Gen Z
/ Millennials) prefer to do a host of common online activities on their smartphone (e.g., make calls, post to
social media, listen to music, play games). While women do prefer to compose emails on their smartphone,
men are equally likely to prefer phone or computer.
For those who prefer to use a computer for typical online activities, fewer than one third would wait until
they get home to use a computer rather than use a smartphone while they’re out. Japanese are unlikely to
start an activity on mobile and finish it on computer – half do this ‘sometimes’ and only 1 in 5 do it often.
27% 2% 49% 4% 18%
What proportion of your work/school day do you spend using...
No device Other device Computer Tablet Smartphone

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About 3 in 10 Japanese have a strong preference for computer, and this is because of a preference for a larger
screen and full keyboard, and to a lesser extent because they feel that websites work better on computer
than on mobile.
The majority of Japanese consumers somewhat agree with each of the following statements:
There are very few differences in agreement between men and women, although men are more likely to say
that they would like a single device that can ‘do everything’. Millennials would like this as well. Similarly, there
are few differences by age for the statements above.
4%
8%
9%
14%
13%
5%
18%
15%
25%
50%
58%
56%
54%
52%
33%
34%
17%
22%
9%
I need a device with me
when I am on the go
I like to see/touch things
before I buy
I prefer to interact with
people in person
I would like a single
device that can do
everything
I prefer to connect with
people via text/social
media
How much do you agree or disagree that...
Strongly disagree Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Strongly agree

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Smartphone Use
Japanese consumers are much less likely than consumers from other regions to ‘constantly/frequently’ do
some common activities on their smartphones. For example, only 31% send texts constantly/frequently
(compared to an average of 67% across all regions), 8% make video calls (26% in all regions), 33% listen to
music (48% in all regions), 28% compose email (43% in all regions) and 44% check social media (60% in all
regions).
There are many activities that Japanese do more often on mobile than even a few years ago, as shown in the
graph below. Mapping/GPS has seen the largest growth, while many other tasks have only seen modest
growth.
While there are very few differences in the uptake of mobile activities across ages, there are substantial
differences by gender, with men more likely than women to be doing nearly all of the activities on this list
more than they were 1-2 years ago.
53%
31%
26%
21%
20%
19%
16%
16%
15%
15%
13%
13%
11%
9%
8%
7%
5%
4%
2%
20%
Monitor traffic / GPS / Mapping
Use touch ID or face recognition
Scan / take photos of documents
Track my health stats / steps / heart rate
Send money via app (e.g., Apple Pay, Venmo)
Synch documents from mobile to computer
Watching TV shows
Use my device as a WiFi hotspot
Banking / remote check deposit
Composing an email or text using voice
Share my location with family / friends
Watching live sports
Checking into a flight
Listening to an audio tour while travelling
Use my phone to control other devices like my TV
Send money via text
Use my phone to manage my house (lights,…
Sending myself voice reminders
Opening a hotel room with a keycard on my phone
None of these
Here are some activities that you can do on mobile, that you may not
have done even a few years ago. Which of these activities are you
doing more now, compared to 1-2 years ago?

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When facing the proposition of having their smartphone taken away for 2 weeks, 45% say “it would be a
major hassle”, 36% say “it would be a minor inconvenience”, and 13% say they “couldn’t live without it”. Only
6% say “I wouldn’t care”. This is largely consistent across all ages and gender.
Mobile Shopping
Only half of Japanese consumers feel that they can do all the retail activities that they want to on mobile,
significantly lower than many other regions. This is consistent across all ages and genders.
Yes
53%
I can do all the retail activities I want to on mobile

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For most shopping activities, smartphones and computers are used in similar proportions, with a few
exceptions (tracking a package or making dinner reservations are done most often via phone, while banking
and groceries are often done in person, particularly by women). See the chart below for details.
Women are generally more likely than men to use a smartphone to conduct retail activities listed below,
while men rely on their computer for all except grocery shopping or ordering a taxi.
When asked how well marketers today give offers and information for the right product/service, at the right
time, only 23% of Japanese consumers say most or lots of the offers they receive are right for them –
although this is high among the regions tested. Most (65%) say marketers are doing an ok job, but there is
room for improvement. Women are more likely than men to say that marketers target the right offers to
them.
The most important improvement that should be made to offers to make them more successful in Japan is
to make them less intrusive, and be for the products and services that they want. This is consistent across all
12%
19%
11%
12%
8%
16%
13%
18%
24%
14%
14%
5%
6%
5%
9%
28%
10%
7%
16%
13%
35%
55%
13%
13%
33%
10%
30%
20%
43%
39%
28%
28%
43%
4%
24%
29%
16%
50%
43%
41%
40%
34%
33%
36%
30%
30%
22%
14%
Tracking a mail package
Make a dinner reservation
Research a trip
Research an electronics
purchase
Look for clothes to purchase
Arrange a return or exchange
of an item I purchased
Find set-up or usage
instructions
Order a taxi or ride share
Order food delivery
Banking
Get groceries
Which way do you most often do each of these activities?
No preference In person Call Computer Smartphone
NOTE: Labels <5% are not shown (for readability).

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ages and gender. Consumers in Japan are the most likely to say ‘don’t bother me, I will find an offer when I
need it’, compared to other countries, although half of GenZ are willing to accept SMS/text offers.
Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Websites
In general, when interacting with a company, Japanese consumers are indifferent, showing only a slight
preference for using a mobile app over a mobile browser. This is fairly consistent across ages and gender. On
average, Japanese consumers have < 10 apps from retailers (not including social media and games) installed
on their device.
Japanese customers are largely indifferent on the use of a mobile browser or mobile app for most activities.
4% 11% 45% 29% 11%
Do you prefer to use mobile app or a mobile website when interacting
with a company?
Browser, strongly Browser, somewhat Indifferent App, somewhat App, strongly
15% browser 40% app

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Thinking that an app will provide a better experience, planning to use the app again in the future and apps
providing special offers or notifications are the top reasons for consumers to download a company’s mobile
app.
Voice Commands & Other Innovations
Two-thirds of Japanese consumers never or rarely use voice commands to speak to their devices – men are
more likely than women (16% vs. 9%) to do so frequently/constantly. While older people simply say they
haven’t tried voice commands, younger Japanese feel that typing is just as easy as voice.
Japanese consumers are far less likely to use voice commands in public or in the presence of another person.
While men think that their use of voice commands will increase somewhat, women think that their usage
will remain the same. Only 5% think they will start using voice in the next year (nearly half are unsure).
When asked about the adoption of other types of devices, Japanese consumers only predict modest increases
in their adoption, (within the next 2 years – see chart below). This is substantially lower than other regions.
16%
18%
12%
17%
24%
16%
20%
19%
17%
27%
28%
48%
50%
58%
54%
49%
58%
54%
58%
62%
53%
54%
36%
33%
30%
28%
27%
26%
26%
23%
21%
21%
18%
Banking
Look for clothes to
purchase
Order a taxi or ride share
Make a dinner reservation
Research a trip
Order food delivery
Tracking a mail package
Arrange a return or
exchange of an item
Get groceries
Research an electronics
purchase
Find set-up or usage
instructions
Do you prefer to use a mobile app or a mobile website
when doing the following types of activities...
Prefer browser Indifferent Prefer app

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Men are more likely than women to adopt these new devices, with the exception of connected home
devices.
29%
28%
18%
14%
13%
6%
43%
Smart speakers/home assistants (e.g., Google
Home, Amazon Echo)
Home entertainment streaming device (e.g., smart
TV, DVR, AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick)
Digital displays (e.g., in-store, restaurants,
airports, bank branch)
Connected home devices/appliances (e.g.,
refrigerators, smart thermostats)
Wearable device (e.g., Fitbit, Jawbone, Apple
Watch)
Connected car dashboards
None of these
Of the devices below, which do you expect to use frequently in the
next two years?