Competitive brand‐choice and store‐choice among Japanese consumers

The equilibrium structure of packaged goods markets in Japan resembles that in Western economies: brands compete against each other in largely unsegmented markets, with the extent of consumers’ brand‐switching and divided loyalties between brands largely predictable from the differing market‐shares of brands. Presented is an analysis of brand loyalty for packaged goods in Japan and comparisons are drawn with brand loyalty in Western industrialized countries such as the UK and USA. The effects of brand‐specific differentiation are embodied principally in the size distribution of brands.