Target: Affluent Women! Insights by 5 Types

What image comes to mind when you hear "affluent class"? Do you picture someone living in Roppongi, driving a Ferrari, and sipping wine daily at trendy restaurants—the very image of a "celebrity"?
Yes, the first image is often of mega-wealthy individuals with assets and annual incomes in the hundreds of millions of yen. However, such "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" represent only a tiny fraction.

Meanwhile, the segment gaining attention in today's consumer market is a different kind of affluent group—one that might be called the "mass affluent." Adding "mass" to "affluent" might feel a bit odd. Yet currently, Japan has the world's fastest growth rate in its affluent population. Fueled by the effects of Abenomics, the affluent are increasing and becoming "mass."

What kind of mindset do these "mass affluent" individuals possess, and what kind of lives do they lead?

To explore this, we conducted a survey in collaboration with Hearst Fujingaho, the publisher of fashion magazines like 25ans, Richesse, and Fujingaho, to examine the attitudes and consumption behaviors of affluent women in Japan.

For this study, we defined affluent individuals as those with "household assets (net assets excluding debts like mortgages) of 100 million yen or more." This represents 6% of all Japanese households, totaling 3.36 million households. Alternatively, we defined them as those with "household annual income of 20 million yen or more." This represents 1% of all Japanese households, totaling 560,000 households.

This "mass affluent" segment actively spends money when consuming, giving them significant impact within the actual consumer market.

Characteristics of affluent women revealed in this survey. Now, let's take a peek into their world.

◆Characteristics of Affluent Women: Flamboyant and Elegant! (Ishii)

First, the overall characteristics of affluent women. The scores in parentheses below represent the average scores for general women from Dentsu Inc.'s proprietary "d-camp X Survey."

【Over ¥200,000 in Disposable Income Monthly!?】
27.5% of affluent women reported having ¥200,000 or more per month at their disposal. Over half of these (16.8%) stated they had "no upper limit." For comparison, only 0.3% of general women have ¥200,000+ monthly disposable income, while 93.3% have less than ¥50,000. This highlights the robust spending power of the mass affluent.

【Active Asset Management】
61.5% (25.5%) of affluent women are interested in asset management. Many are actively investing, with domestic stock investments being the most common at 65.4% (6.3%).

During interviews, many stated "It's not that much..." while actively managing stock investments exceeding 10 million yen. They engage in asset management not only in securities but also in finance and real estate.

【Generous Spending on Education】
74.8% (45.0%) of respondents "spare no expense on education." Recently, various services targeting this education-focused demographic have emerged, actively courting the mass affluent segment.

Furthermore, "mom friends" frequently appear in their social circles. Due to their strong focus on education, many send their children to private schools. As a result, mothers with similar values and economic means often form lasting friendships that continue long after their children graduate.

【Proactive Spending on Health】
Interest in health is high. 45.0% (21.3%) "are willing to try various diets and health methods if they benefit health," and 41.7% (14.6%) "don't mind spending a bit more if it benefits health." They spare no effort or expense for health. Interviews also revealed a tendency to actively use supplements, health foods, sports clubs, and beauty salons.

【Preference for Elegance】
The top trait in their ideal self-image is being refined. "Refined" ranked highest at 32.0% (11.3%) in their "ideal self-image." For them, refinement means "inner beauty" – encompassing poise and demeanor, mindset, proper etiquette and manners, composure, and choice of words.

◆Five Types of Affluent Women (Takahashi)

Even among the affluent, values are not uniform. They have diverse consumption priorities and values, and failing to align with these will prevent capturing their hearts. This survey clustered affluent individuals into five types based on their values and consumption attitudes.

① The Steadfast, Traditional Japanese Woman Type
Assets inherited are not for "spending" but for "preserving."

These are solid conservatives who protect ancestral homes and assets. They have the highest proportion of individuals aged 50 and above among the five types, primarily consisting of asset-based affluent individuals, many of whom are pensioners.

Compared to other affluent types, they have lower consumption desires and do not own luxury brands.

They love Japan. They spend little on beauty, fashion, or branded goods, opting for fast fashion or supermarket clothing for everyday wear and drugstore cosmetics. Impulse buying is rare. Conversely, they tend to invest in family-related expenses like education.

■Steady and stability-oriented. They don't make impulse purchases.
Save money for the future: 88.7% ≪78.3%≫ (56.3%)
Stable-minded: 72.6% ≪59.2%≫
I tend to make impulse purchases: 11.3% ≪41.4%≫ (44.2%)

■Minimal makeup, bought at drugstores.
I pay attention to skincare. 35.5% ≪68.3%≫ (65.1%)

■I don't spend much money, but I'm enthusiastic about education.
I don't hesitate to spend money on education: 61.3% ≪74.8%≫ (45.0%)

■I like Japan
Prefers overseas brands over domestic brands 3.2% ≪48.2%≫ (24.6%)
Like Japanese culture 62.9% ≪54.0%≫

■Ideal self
"Refined" 24.4% ≪32.0%≫ (11.3%)
"Seems sincere" 24.4% ≪12.6%≫ (8.9%)
"Trustworthy" 19.4% ≪17.8%≫ (32.1%)

② Full-Throttle, Life-Celebrating Type
Gives it their all in both work and private life. Life is a one-time-only deal—no compromises needed. If you don't enjoy it, you're missing out!

This affluent type includes many self-reliant earners who support themselves, not just relying on parents or spouses. They enjoy life with money they've earned themselves! Separate finances from their husband! They're proactive about work, hobbies, travel, fashion, asset management, and love brands. They live life to the fullest.

Their sensitivity to trends and confidence in fashion are top among the five types. A key characteristic is their high interest in social contribution: over 90% care about environmental issues and NPOs/charities, and they carry eco-bags. While enthusiasm for education is common across all types, this group shows the highest level of interest. They naturally want to broaden their children's possibilities, partly because they themselves received dedicated education from their parents. They see it as the logical next step for their own kids. They are forward-thinking, active women.

■Leading Enthusiasm for Education Among Affluent Households
They spare no expense on education: 91.9% ≪74.8%≫ (45.0%)

■Assets are meant to grow.
Interested in asset management: 71.0% ≪61.5%≫ (25.5%)

■Fashion-forward and confident in style.
64.5% are sensitive to trends ≪46.8%≫ (31.1%)
Confident in their fashion sense: 69.4% ≪49.8%≫ (27.5%)

■I like jewelry, but bags more. I prefer classic brands.
Own luxury brand bags: 79.0% ≪69.9%≫ (57.5%)
Own luxury brand jewelry or accessories: 67.7% ≪57.0%≫ (35.0%)

■My ideal self is
"Intelligent" 32.3% ≪22.3%≫ (9.1%)
"Refined" 30.6% ≪32.0%≫ (11.3%)
"Kind" 24.2% ≪16.5%≫ (18.0%)