Following Japan changes to the regulations on the marked price of goods, Japanese clothing brands took the opportunity to introduce discounts to enable consumers to enjoy preferential treatment.
Yamaguchi, JP (Merxwire) – Anyone who has been to Japan knows that their product prices will be marked with the tax-free price, and then the consumption tax will be marked next to it, but this marking method is too complicated. All Japanese product price labeling regulations will be changed soon. Starting from April, product price labeling must indicate the “total amount,” including consumption tax.
The Japan group Fast Retailing recently announced that the price figures of all products under the group’s brands “UNIQLO” and “GU” did not change, that is, the price will be directly changed from the price without tax to the price after tax, which is equivalent to a price drop of 9-10%. It hopes to attract consumers to buy goods.
Fast Retailing is very clever; not changing the label price can reduce labor and time costs, and consumers can also take the opportunity to enjoy discounts. For example, a product originally labeled “1,990 yen + consumption tax” will now have a total price including tax of “1,990 yen”.
However, UNIQLO has also adjusted its pricing strategy. In the past, you can often see signs such as price reductions in UNIQLO stores, but you can no longer see them during the 2020 winter shopping season. Instead, they will be marked with new prices. Price cuts or discounts make people feel negative, but they can get a positive image by marking them with new prices.
Consumers and stores have clearly different positions on whether the price of goods needs to include tax. According to statistics conducted by the Japanese media, nearly 90% of consumers believe that the labeling method of “tax-excluded price + consumption tax” is very confusing, and most people believe that goods should be marked with tax-included prices.
With Japan changes to regulations, in the future, consumers will be able to obtain a clear price tag so that the selling price will not be separated from the consumption tax, which is convenient for consumers. However, it is definitely an annoying thing for corporate brands. In addition to the need to re-set the price, the price label in the mall must also be replaced, which will be an additional cost.
Objects that need to indicate tax-included prices include stores, flyers, news or TV commercials, and businesses that provide services or goods to general consumers. If it is a B2B transaction, the manufacturer has no obligation to mark the tax-included prices. If it is a B2B transaction, the manufacturer has no obligation to mark the tax-included prices.