Hasta La Gadget!

Last week saw the grand opening of a brand new total beauty facility from Japanese beauty giant Shiseido, “Shiseido The Ginza” offering shoppers far more than just a mere retail experience.

Situated in the heart of Ginza, a luxury shopping area in central Tokyo, the space consists of three floors of beauty related products and services. Aiming to provide “a place where you can meet undiscovered aspects of yourself,” Shiseido have created a very modern, fresh space featuring beauty parlors, product sampling areas, a photo studio and even incorporated some cutting edge interactive shopping experiences for customers to play with. Rather than simply a cosmetic or beauty products shop, the space gives customers a chance to indulge themselves in a far more engaging retail experience and immerse themselves in the full Shiseido brand experience.

The first floor features Shiseido’s full product lineup along with a number of fully interactive digital cosmetic mirrors. Customers scan a barcode of a chosen product and the “mirror” then automatically applies the product on the image of the customers face. Allowing shoppers to try varying shades of mascara or eyeliner from different angles, customers are able to virtually try the product and find the most complementing shades for them. There are also a number of scanning terminals where shoppers can scan products and receive more information including application tips and beauty secrets.

Shoppers are then invited to the second floor where they can chat with trained staff to find out more about certain products and cosmetics found on the first floor. There are also a number of booths allowing customers to trial different products, and a “Bihada Lounge” where professional counsellors can diagnose skin types using specialized equipment and recommend different skincare regimes. The whole second floor is a far more indulgent shopping experience, inviting shoppers to be pampered with a hair and makeup salon staffed by estheticians from the Shiseido Academy of Beauty & Fashion, and even a photo studio to capture ladies at their glowing best.

Moving up to the third floor also moves up the luxury ladder, exuding an elegant feel with a Swarovski crystal chandelier above plush carpet and individual counseling rooms for full private beauty sessions offering the brands premium products. Once again taking advantage of some of the most advanced beauty technology specialsed equipment and software designed by Shiseido, gives visitors the chance to learn more about their skin condition and offers a “total approach to beauty”. The private booths are particularly nicely designed with darker colors and sleek modern furnishings providing a more intimate space featuring massage chairs, showers, Shiseido branded towels and other beauty devices.

The interior is fully designed by Klein Dytham who are well known for their innovative and stylish work and is built around an “Arch” concept. Inviting customers to find hidden areas in the shop which each have their own distinct theme, whether it be a Moroccan looking powder booth or a more clinical treatment room, shoppers are encouraged to explore the whole space, try, buy and generally indulge themselves.

More and more brands are moving toward utilizing their spaces as more than just simple retail shops, aiming to provide a brand experience which becomes part of a consumer’s lifestyle . This idea of a fully immersive shopping experience works particularly well with the cosmetic and beauty sector, where shoppers can either pop in for their favorite product or spend the full day being pampered in luxury surroundings.

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At the recent Retail Tech Expo held in Tokyo Panasonic showcased a prototype solar powered inductive charging table which is able to juice up devices simply by placing them on the table.

Although inductive coupling products have been on the market for some time, what was different about this product was how the charging panel on the table connected directly with the battery itself. A Panasonic employee demonstrated how it was possible to simply place the battery on the table and it would begin charging without any coupling or 3rd party accessories, as the circuits are integrated with the batteries themselves.

With the array of mobile devices in use today users are always looking for a quick top up of battery power on the go. Incorporating this kind of product into city restaurants and coffee shops would provide a very quick and easy way to keep the mobile offices powered, customers simply place their devices on the table as they have their coffee and automatically charging without any further cables or docking.

Sanyo’s portable Eneloop chargers, some solar powered, are already popular products on that market in Japan, so it makes an obvious next step to introduce this kind of technology into the market as well. We wrote recently about the rise in demand for alternatively powered appliances given the recent power shortages in Japan, coupled with the rise in the “eco-conscious” consumer around the world means that this kind of innovative product would potentially be hugely popular and useful.

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Toshiba have today announced the release of the industry’s first notebook PC which incorporates a terrestrial digital TV tuner capable of recording two programs simultaneously, and will go on sale from May 20th.

The notebook computer also comes with a one touch “eco” button which changes the running of the computer to optimum energy saving levels, cutting power consumption by 24% based on regular using. The product itself isn’t hugely game changing, but what was interesting was how Toshiba are marketing the new product in Japan.

The disaster in Japan has changed the way many companies approach how they advertise their products now. Toshiba with their new laptop are focusing on the ability for users to be able to watch digital terrestrial television broadcasts, even during power blackouts when normal televisions would not work. Concerns of consumers in Japan have certainly changed since the earthquake, and being able to watch developing news on the television in the event of a disaster may appeal to many who experienced the disaster firsthand.

The eco function will also be heavily promoted as consumers worry about the possibility of summer power shortages. Having already experienced blackouts shortly after the earthquake the threat of certain appliances being off limits during periods of the day is a prominent concern for many. Where before the disaster, brands advertising their eco credentials were tapping into growing environmental concerns, post quake, in Japan’s New Normal, it is targeting concerns of a different nature.

The number of appliances with built in batteries targeting this “post disaster market” will no doubt increase, as concerns rise about power shortages. With a variety of outlets available to the public which convey the electricity grid’s current consumption rate in real time, the threat of blackouts is particularly visible. Just last week with the recent warmer weather we saw the indicator rise to 85% capacity and it was only 11am. Knowing how hot and humid summers can be in Tokyo, the use of airconditioners is a must so energy consumption will rise dramatically as the thermometer does.

Sharp have already released a portable TV that can last up to 3-4 hours without mains power, and a new Tohsiba TV even comes with a “peak shift” button on the remote which switches from AC adapter to battery power. Being able to charge whilst watching during off peak times, then switch to battery power during peak electricity usage hours will help cut the electricity demand. Electric fans, refrigerators and other appliances could be next to offer back up, non mains power, and the demand for these products will no doubt spur innovation within Japan. With an interest in “Eco” products worldwide, this kind of technology could provide Japan with a unique opportunity to take the lead in energy saving products and innovate out of disaster.

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This is the first column in a new biweekly series introducing newsletter content provided by our local research partners, INterRIDE Inc..

Mobile GPS apps

2010 saw several social media GPS apps join the bulging ranks of digital tools already out there for Japanese consumers. International names like Facebook’s Places — launched in Japan last September as its first market outside of the U.S. — and Foursquare were joined by the likes of local giant mixi also offering their own version of geo-fun. Mixi’s Check In was used 2 million times in its first month alone, indicating the strong potential for these services.

Japanese GPS services can currently be categorized as map-style apps (e.g. Navitime), “spot” or site-searching apps (Hot Pepper FooMoo), gaming apps (CoroPura), or the newer SNS apps (including Tou.ch).

The local growth isn’t surprising when set against the overall global advance of geo-services, predicted to continue expanding until 2014 and reach $134 billion. Advertising on GPS services was a mere $2 billion back in 2009 but is expected to increase to some $59 billion by 2014.

Last February saw another major release, RecoCheck by Recruit, which has information on over 4 million sites and integrates Twitter. It aims to be the number one service of its kind by March 2012. Yahoo!’s Loco, set for release in June, also promises to be the biggest in Japan and to push the market yet further.

However, as reported by SPiRE, GPS is still a minority interest for most consumers. In a survey of over ten thousand mobile phone users only 20% used the apps, of which the leader was the rather generic Google Map.

Lawson x GREE

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of its Ponta loyalty card, convenience store chain Lawson launched a campaign with mobile game platform GREE’s virtual reality shop, Omeseya-san. Users collected digital items in order to complete their Ponta mascot-themed Lawson uniform avatar. Omeseya-san’s one million members had to get five items (including digital representations of Lawson products) to claim their prize.

Liberal Democratic Party

While last year Japan’s politicians tried to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, the Opposition Liberal Democratic Party (or Jiminto) took a different approach. In February they became the first local party to open an official Facebook page. Within four days a 1,000 people had “liked” the page; this has since grown to over 3,000. Not a lot but in proportion to the numbers of Facebook users who are LDP supporters it might be a large number indeed!

In an age where Presidents are announcing their bids for re-election via their Facebook pages this might not seem a radical move, but considering the opacity and intransigence of local politics, and the stolid growth of Facebook here, it’s an interesting development.

Osaifu Keitai for Smart Phones

As smart phone sales continue to prove healthy there will be innovations to localize them, or adapt other technology to work with them. This is especially true of popular Japanese mobile actions like reading QR codes, infra-red data transfer, and e-money functionality via FeliCa chips (osaifu keitai).

Previously mophie announced plans to create an add-on casing to the iPhone so that it could work with FeliCa readers, and Softbank more recently began selling a cruder solution in the form of “e-money stickers” that could be placed on your handset to allow it to connect with an e-money system like Waon or Edy.

Now BUG (pronounced as an acronym, not an insect) has developed the Smart Sound Touch system, where stores uses readers at the POS to allow even non-FeliCa-integrated smart phones to be scanned and read, to launch apps or connect to coupon websites. This ultimately means that smart phones will be able to offer loyalty programs and e-money services. (The readers apparently also work with FeliCa-integrated handsets too.) All the SST hardware requires now is for service providers to develop apps for consumers to download.

It has been said that the Japanese don’t always wear their hearts on their sleeves and it can be particularly hard to judge their emotions. Step in the team from “neurowear” who have developed a product called “necomimi” which takes brain signals from our emotions and turns them into visible actions rendering them in the form of wiggling cat ears.

Advertising it as a new communication tool that “augments the human body and ability”, the website introduces the product as a fashion item and gadget that uses brainwaves and other biosensors. Designed obviously for the cutesy Japanese market with its cat ear shape (neco and mimi being the words for cat and ear) the ears mimic a cat’s ears as they wiggle and rise with the wearers emotional state, for example rising in anticipation of eating a delicious cookie, or drop down when relaxed.

The product, although at present a bit of a commercial gimmick, could actually be used for a number of other functions. For example, to help allow mentally disabled people show their feelings and easing frustrations within those who are verbally challenged. This kind of technology that doesn’t require too many intrusive components could certainly help in treatment by non verbally demonstrating wearers emotions, particularly in children. The same technology could also be used within other applications. Embedded in a hard hat for example the same brain signal monitor could be worn for workers involved in particularly demanding tasks requiring constant concentration. This kind of new technology aimed at health and wellbeing is a particularly growing market in Japan with its increasing greying society.

The product was on display at Omotesando Hills in the “Smile Bazar” where customers could try it on for themselves.

This is the first product from the “neurowear” company but they have already stated their intention to release more products soon, and if you watch the youtube video it does hint at a follow up with a strange bluetooth like device the passing man is wearing on his ear.

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