Why do Chinese consumers feel Japanese products are no longer worth boycotting?
A seismic shift in the market has resulted in people preferring Chinese fashion, locally branded appliances and domestically made cars
During past flare-ups in diplomatic tensions between China and Japan, Chinese consumers spontaneously boycotted Japanese goods.
Part of the reason for the turnaround is a seismic shift in China’s consumer market, with the Japanese home appliances, digital gadgets and cars once seen as must-have items having largely lost their lustre to the benefit of domestic brands.
For many Chinese people, there are simply not that many Japanese products left that feel worth boycotting.
Competition from local rivals has increasingly become a formidable challenge for all international brands in China, including Japanese ones. The era when Chinese consumers fervently chased foreign luxury and premium names is over, analysts and industry insiders said.
Today, proudly wearing Chinese fashion, using locally branded appliances and driving domestically made cars has become the prevailing trend.
The competitive landscape of China’s consumer market has undergone a “dramatic transformation” since 2021, the consulting firm Accenture said in a China consumer survey report released earlier this month.