Pre-orders for osechi traditional New Year food for the coming year are in full swing. Retailers are hoping the spread of the coronavirus will boost sales of osechi products as more people stay home from Jan. 1 to 3. As a measure to prevent infection, each company has taken various measures, such as adding more osechi products for one person without the need to share dishes among everyone.
Takashimaya Co. started taking reservations for osechi products in mid-September, and sales in September were up 30% from the previous year.
"There is a growing need for luxury at home," a company official said.
Iwaizen (celebration dinner) Futaba is a set of 2 boxes of standard osechi dishes, with one person eating the contents of one box and rendering it unnecessary to divide dishes. On the lid, a drawing of Amabie, a yokai supernatural being said to contain epidemic, is riding on a cow, which is the Zodiac for next year. Takashimaya Co. will also sell "Fuku osechi ryori" with lottery tickets via the internet and catalog sales.
Sogo & Seibu Co. prepared osechi comprising 50 dishes each in small cups, supervised by Japanese and French chefs. Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co. has prepared many osechi dishes that can be sent to remote places in anticipation of continued tendency to refrain from returning to hometown. As travel restrictions continue to be imposed, Matsuya Co. introduces an authentic Spanish dish as osechi as well.
Department stores have been having a hard time due to almost no foreign visitors to Japan. On the other hand, there are many customers who order luxury food through online shopping. "Nesting consumption," in which consumers spend money at home instead of going out, is robust. Department stores hope to turn the tables through sales of osechi dishes, which have a high unit price .
Matsuya Co. conducted an attitude survey of osechi among mail magazine subscribers. The percentage of people who answered, "I will buy osechi for next year" was 69%, up about 16 points from the survey for this year. The average budget is about 24,000, yen with 90% saying they would "increase" or "keep unchanged" their budget.
Supermarkets and convenience stores are also working to sell osechi products.
Aeon Retail Co., a major Japanese supermarket chain, will run a campaign in which customers who order osechi dishes on the internet and pay for them with their Aeon credit card and so on, receive five times more points than usual. Seven-Eleven Japan Co. will prepare seven kinds of osechi, with quantities for one to four people, to help support various ways of spending the New Year.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
