The OMIYAGE Custom
Japanese Gift Giving
Americans buy souvenirs for themselves when traveling. It’s different in Japan, and understanding this difference can lead to large sales.
Senbetsu
When Japanese people travel, their friends give them money. This money (SENBETSU) is not to spend on a good time, but to bring back a gift (OMIYAGE) to the giver. People in Japan like being able to point to some nice thing in their home and say, “My friend brought me that from Hawaii (or wherever.)”
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The Japanese traveler must keep accurate track of the amounts given, and must spend “at least” the amount given. It is so obligatory that some spend their entire vacation shopping. Because the money was given to them, the cost is not a factor. This is one of the reasons that the Japanese visitor spends so much more than those from other places in the world.
When you have a Japanese visitor in your store, ask, “Are you shopping for Omiyage?” If not, he or she will point to themself, meaning, “No, I am shopping for me.” If they are shopping for Omiyage point to the things you sell that make good Omiyage, and say. “II Omiyage.” “II” (prononouced eee) means “Good.” Omiyage is pronounced Oh-Me-Ah-Gay.
To qualify as good OMIYAGE your product must be in one of two categories:
A. Worldwide Name Brand Products: We all know who they are, and Japanese travelers spend millions on them.
B. Locally Made: Products that originated in the place being visited, or are in anyway unique to the place being visited.
The givers determine the amounts being spent. They have all ranges of OMIYAGE obligations to fulfill. Millionaires must buy trinkets, and workers often times buy gifts for millionaires.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:06 am
Hello Ron and everyone,
I found this article very very interesting and will be on the lookout for more. Thank you very much for the advice and lessons and insights into the mindset of Japanese tourists and customers. Please confirm phonetic pronunciation of OMIYAGE and SENBETSU. The senbetsu is probably a given but the first? ARGHEE or AYJ at the end?
Thanks and cheers,
Lestie
October 18th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Hello Ron and everyone,
Thanks for this, since this first appeared I used the wrong pronounciation, (since corrected!) but told a couple of colleagues about it. One runs a gift store and changes specialities as and when she feels like it or depending on what she ‘finds’ overseas. She has all sorts of good things that suit the “I need it” urge for any shopper, and her latest adventure is in porcelain dolls. She’s building up a word of mouth clientele with her ‘omiyage’ approach to her customers. Of course if she recognises a Japanese person, she says “II Omiyage” and starts off well and sells (says she has a lot to learn still with Japanese customers), but has taken to telling any of her customers that whatever they are interestied in would make a good gift for someone at home. I am not sure that I have put over the idea properly, but her sales have shot up, her two retail sales assistants are earning more commission and this new ‘technique’ has meant that her stock turnover is getting better, even on previosuly slow moving items. This is for several reasons perhaps, but one thing is for sure it is also because of her staff’s new approach, based on this advice above Ron, that millionaires need to buy trinkets and workers fancy goods. Of course, for every sale there is a happy customer too, something she is very pleased about. She even got a postal request the other day for a direct purchase to be shipped out. This is an everyday occurrance with Ebay and internet shopping, but not for her snail mail. She was thrilled and aims to carry on developing this kind of market. Yes she says, there are still many who do not use the computer to go shopping and want to deal with a live person rather than a fi;l your shopping cart option. She also thinks I am very smart for having taught her something she says she should have realised long ago. Basking in your sunlight is nice Ron … but I did tell her where I got my info from so thanks a lot. She is working on the wrapping and presentation of her gifts as well in terms of making sure that when they arrive they are crisp and new and smart and all those good words.
More similar advice please Ron and if anyone out there has other ‘international’ cultural shopping customs or systems to share, I would apreciate it too.
Regards
Lestie
Jo’burg
South Africa