Nov 01, 2020 (Japan Times) - Hironori Sakamoto and his wife plan to spend the next few nights at a spacious, fully furnished two-story house with a large wooden deck in Kitami, a quiet suburb in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward.
They’ll then move to another home in the neighboring district of Tsurumaki, which they have registered as their official residence. Then they’ll decide where to go next — maybe a place in the mountains or somewhere by the sea.
In that regard, they are spoiled for choice: Including the Kitami and Tsurumaki properties, there are nearly 90 shared homes across Japan where they can stay as long as they pay a set monthly fee.
Sakamoto isn’t on vacation or hopping around AirBnBs. The self-employed sales consultant and his wife are members of ADDress, a subscription-based co-living service that launched last year, offering an alternative lifestyle somewhere between home ownership and traditional rental housing contracts.
Sakamoto is part of a trend that is not restricted to the housing market. While Japan has lagged behind other large economies in terms of subscription-based businesses, the model is finally catching on as consumers search for personalized, cost-effective alternatives to access products and services with recurring fees.
From suppliers of housing and transportation to purveyors of food and beverages, subscription-based companies are popping up everywhere, demonstrating resilience and potential even in the midst of a pandemic.
Today’s consumers can subscribe to an ever-expanding range of products: meal kits, cosmetics, apparel, furniture — even cars. For businesses, it’s an opportunity to establish long-term relationships with their customers and secure steady revenue streams. For consumers, the growing array of services allows them to access personalized experiences, such as made-to-order selections of bread and coffee.
The success of a subscription-based business depends on the product category, Shimomura says. Offering products and services such as specialty coffee, quality alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and perhaps even children’s toys that offer a wide range of products and require a certain amount of knowledge comes with a built-in advantage, since they allow a firm to play the role of concierge.
The winner of the 2019 Subscription Business Award issued by the Japan Subscription Business Association, for example, was Toysub!, a service that delivers toys, based on the child’s age, every two months.
