Survey on Cashless Awareness Among Consumers

The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on April 18 is as follows.

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April 18, 2019

Approximately 90% of consumers agree that "society is moving toward a cashless future"

Point rewards recognized and intended to use by over 60%

Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshihiro Yamamoto), through its "Dentsu Cashless Project" which supports marketing strategies in the payment domain, recently conducted a "Survey on Consumers' Cashless Awareness."

This survey was conducted to clarify how consumers' payment methods are changing amid the diversification of payment options such as card payments, mobile payments, and online payments, and to identify which payment methods will become mainstream in the future.

Key findings are as follows:

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① Approximately 90% of consumers recognize that "society is moving toward a cashless society"

Those who believe "society is moving toward a cashless society" (cashless society advocates) accounted for 86.9%, while those who believe "society still functions as a cash-based society" (cash society advocates) accounted for 13.1%. Cashless society advocates overwhelmingly represent the mainstream.

Q: What are your thoughts on the following statements about "cashless" and "cash"? Please indicate which statement (A or B) is closer to your own view. (%)
 

 

② 70% of respondents are "cashless advocates" for their own payments

The ratio of "cashless advocates" who want to make their own payments (settlements) cashless as much as possible and "cash advocates" who want to use cash as much as possible is 70.1% and 29.9%, respectively.

Q: What are your thoughts on the following topics: "cashless payments" and "cash"? Please indicate whether your views align more closely with A or B.(%)
 

 

③ Awareness of "smartphone payments" stands at 81%.

Awareness of smartphone payments has reached 81%, indicating significant recognition. However, usage experience stands at only 21.4%, showing considerable room for growth.

Q: A new service called "smartphone payments" (hereafter referred to as smartphone payments) has emerged as a new payment method, enabling payments via credit cards or electronic money using mobile devices such as smartphones. Are you familiar with "smartphone payments"? Based on your usage status, please also indicate your future usage intentions.(%)
 

 

④ High expectations for cashless initiatives among government economic measures

Among the nine economic measures announced by the government, "Cashless Point Rebates" (65.3%) had the highest awareness rate, with 64.7% of respondents stating they "would like to actually use it."

Q: The government announced it will implement nine economic measures alongside the consumption tax hike. Are you aware of these measures?(%)
 

Q: The government announced it will implement nine economic measures alongside this consumption tax hike. Please indicate which measures you would actually like to use (or have high expectations for).(%)
 

Furthermore, 74.1% expressed an intention to continue using cashless payments even after the point rebate period ends in June 2020.

Q: Cashless payment point rewards and cashback will end in June 2020. Will you continue using cashless payments after that?(%)
 

The Dentsu Inc. Cashless Project anticipates that Japan's cashless payment ratio will continue to rise rapidly, driven primarily by smartphone payments. This outlook is based on the growing consumer awareness of cashless payments, the government's cashless initiatives accompanying the tax hike, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's policy to promote electronic currency for salary payments through ordinance revisions.

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【Survey Overview】
◇Survey Method: Internet survey
◇Survey Period: March 14-15, 2019
◇Survey Area: Nationwide
◇Survey Participants: 500 men and women aged 20–69 (weighted based on population composition)

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Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2019/0418-009802.html