Dentsu Report: Top three Hit Products in 2010 chosen by Japanese consumers – Smartphones, Twitter and Munchable Chili Oil

Dentsu Inc. Tokyo has released its 2010 Hit Products in Japan report. Produced as part of a series that has been chronicling hit products since 1985, the latest report examines and generalizes major trends that represented the “consumer mindset” in 2010. It is based on an Internet survey of Japanese consumers carried out in November 2010 by Dentsu Innovation Institute (DII).

Dentsu Buzz Research, a proprietary system used to analyze “buzz” (word of mouth) in Internet blogs, was used to determine the word-of-mouth activity of each hit product. The results were then incorporated in the rankings. Smartphones, Twitter and Munchable Chili Oil top this year’s list:

The products (including some popular content and social phenomena) selected by the respondents as the top 20 products of 2010 are listed below. The figures in parentheses are last year’s rankings. Previously unranked products are indicated with (-).

2010 Hit Products

No. 1: Smartphones (34)

No. 2: Twitter (104)

No. 3: Munchable chili oil (-)

No. 4: Digital broadcasting-equipped widescreen flat-panel TVs (7)

No. 5: Ryoma Sakamoto (1836-1867; popular historical figure and visionary who played a key role in bringing about the Meiji Restoration. “The Legend of Ryoma” TV drama series has also become a hit.) (101)

No. 6: International flight services at Haneda Airport (-)

No. 7: Tokyo Sky Tree (new broadcasting tower scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2012) (-)

No. 8: Eco-point energy-saving home appliances (5) 2/3

No. 9: 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ (-)

No. 10: LED light bulbs (15)

No. 11: B-grade local gourmet food (term used for inexpensive local food eaten in a casual setting; A-grade refers to expensive gourmet food eaten in a formal setting.) (-)

No. 12: Akira Ikegami (journalist and commentator) (-)

No. 13: Domestic fast fashion brands (Low-priced domestic fashions) (3)

No. 14: GeGeGe’s Wife (TV drama based on the 2008 autobiography by Nunoe Mura, the wife of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki (known for his manga character GeGeGe no Kitaro, a ghost boy who saves the world from evil spirit monsters)) (-)

No. 15: 3D movies, TV, cameras and other 3D products (60)

No. 16: Hybrid vehicles (1)

No. 17: Imported fast fashion brands (64)

No. 18: AKB48 (48-member all-girl theater/idol group with its own theater in Akihabara, Tokyo) (-)

No. 19: Tablet information devices (-)

No. 20: Yoichi Watanabe (war photographer and popular talk-show guest) (-)

Note: The above products/services were chosen from approximately 130 popular items included in the Internet survey. The total scores in three categories — “recognition,” “have/had interest” and “is/was popular” — were calculated to determine the top products of 2010.

Predicted Hit Products/Services for 2011 Onward

No. 1: Tokyo Sky Tree

No. 2: LED light bulbs

No. 3: Electric vehicles

No. 4: International flight services at Haneda Airport

No. 5: Smartphones

No. 6: 3D movies, TV, cameras and other 3D products

No. 7=: Hybrid cars

No. 7=: E-book readers

No. 9: Discount airline tickets

No. 10: Tablet information devices

No. 11: Home solar power systems

No. 12: Digital broadcasting-equipped widescreen flat-panel TVs

No. 13: Compact data communication devices

No. 14: Home fuel cell (clean energy) systems

No. 15: Group purchase coupons

No. 16: Bread and sweets made with rice powder

No. 17: Bladeless electric fans

No. 18=: Cloud computing (including related books)

No. 18=: B-grade local gourmet food

No. 20: Alcohol-free beer-like beverages