Instagram users in Japan make purchase decisions differently

Instagram has remained one of the most dominant social networks in Japan in 2020, but platform changes and an evolution in users means that brands need to adjust their marketing approach.

Those aiming to get surface-level “Instagenic” metrics like followers and Likes now need to pivot and build an actual connection with followers - it’s what they’re looking for.

Desire of female users in their 20s and 30s in Japan when using Instagram and Twitter - TAMKO

Regarding purchases, there is an increasing tendency for users to bypass search engines like Google altogether and travel through the purchase funnel within Instagram.

Japanese users have a noticeably higher tendency to search via hashtags and investigate products through shopping tags while browsing Japanese UGC word-of-mouth content.

This means that international brands who only run Japanese ads from a global Instagram account, and use product tags linking to a non-Japanese eCommerce site need to adapt.

What we’ve compiled:

Our free brief takes a look at recent changes in Japanese consumers on Instagram and what brands should do going forward when marketing to Japanese on Instagram.

If you or someone you know is advertising or marketing to Japanese consumers on Instagram, or are just interested in how Instagram and its users are changing, this is for you.