Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Michael is co-founder and partner at JapanConsuming.

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports and seminars on retail sectors and consumer trends, as well as telephone consulting/meetings with investors. 

All of JapanConsuming's team are bilingual and bi-cultural, and the company's research sources are:

Direct meetings with retailers, wholesalers, distributors, trade body staff, govt., marketing firms, academics etc.
Govt. data
Trade association data
Trade Press across all consumer sectors
Unique Network of buyers/managers/marketing staff at retail, as well as wholesalers and trading firms.
Editors/Journalists at publishing houses and PR/Ad firms.


JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Michael Causton set up and ran a consumer distribution business in Tokyo for 10 years and developed this into a business responsible for annual imports to Japan of several billion Yen, at the same time building up an inside knowledge of how Japanese distribution works and developing a network of contacts across the industry. Seeing the lack of quality market intelligence on Japanese markets, he co-founded JapanConsuming in 2000. He divides his time between Japan and Europe/US consulting for companies, governments and investors, including providing talks, seminars, and webinars as well as writing reports and books.

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Japanese Consumer Spending: Growing Resilience in the Face of Ongoing Inflation

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Japan Department Stores: Transformation Amidst a Recovery

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Real Insight on Japanese Consumer Markets

JapanConsuming

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and telephone consulting to investors on trends and retailers.

JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Japan Consumer discretionary distribution and retail / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The number of new mall developments in 2024 in Japan held steady but will collapse in 2025 due to higher costs, lower demand and a lack of labour.</li>
<li>At the same time, for existing malls, sales were robust through 2023 and 2024 and look set to continue at higher levels despite consumer restraint.</li>
<li>Both locals and tourists alike use malls for leisure, entertainment and shopping and, as the number of malls falls, and upgrades continue, efficiency is improving.</li>
</ul>


The number of new mall developments in 2024 in Japan held steady but will collapse in 2025 due to higher costs, lower demand and a lack of labour.
At the same time, for existing malls, sales were robust through 2023 and 2024 and look set to continue at higher levels despite consumer restraint.
Both locals and tourists alike use malls for leisure, entertainment and shopping and, as the number of malls falls, and upgrades continue, efficiency is improving.


Japan Shopping Mall Sector in 2025: Robust Sales, Fewer Doors