＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. Current state of the mail order market
Recently, in addition to the traditional “catalog mail order (Nissen, etc.),” the “mail order market” has expanded rapidly with the addition of “Internet markets (Rakuten, Amazon, Yahoo! Shopping, etc.)” and “TV shopping (Japanet Takata, Shop Japan, etc.).” Along with this, the demand for “home delivery services” (Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, Nippon Express Pelican Mail, Seino Transportation’s Kangaroo Mail, etc.) has also increased sharply.
According to statistics from the Japan Direct Marketing Association (JADMA), sales in the “mail order market” in fiscal 2017 (April 2017 to March 2018) increased 8.8% from the previous year to 7.55 trillion yen (an increase of 610 billion yen in monetary terms). For comparison, in fiscal 2007, sales were 3.88 trillion yen. This has been an upward trend for 19 consecutive years, with the average growth rate over the past 10 years being 6.9%.
In the 2016 GDP statistics, the proportion of “mail order sales” to “total household consumption” was only 2.4%, but considering that while “total household consumption” has remained flat, “mail order sales” has increased by an average of 6.9% per year over the past 10 years, it is expected to account for a large proportion in the future.
Naturally, the majority of users of “mail order” are young people, but we, the “baby boomer generation,” also frequently use online shopping sites such as “Rakuten Ichiba” and TV shopping sites such as “Japanet Takata.” In addition, I have seen news reports that “shopping refugees” such as those in depopulated areas and the elderly are also making good use of “mail order.”
For this reason, the use of “mail order” is expected to continue to increase for all generations. One problem is the concern about leaks and outflows of customer information. I hope that mail-order companies will continue to strictly manage customer information.
2. Problems with home delivery services
Along with this, the volume of parcels handled by “home delivery services” has also increased sharply. The number of parcels handled was 3.21 billion in fiscal 2008, but increased to 4.25 billion in fiscal 2017, showing rapid growth of more than 30% over the past 10 years.
The problems with this “home delivery service” include:
(1) a chronic shortage of delivery drivers;
(2) an increase in “re-delivery” and “re-re-delivery” due to the recipient being absent (according to a December 2014 survey by the three major companies, 19.6% of deliveries were “absent”);
(3) an increased burden on drivers (long working hours) due to “re-delivery” and “re-re-delivery.”
3. Measures for redelivery of parcels
Measures to deal with this include (1) using rail transport (in combination), (2) outsourcing to light truck transport companies such as “Akabou” during peak seasons, (3) pick-up systems at convenience stores, and (4) the installation of “delivery boxes” at homes, stations, and supermarkets.
However, it is unlikely that these “delivery boxes” will become widespread rapidly. In the future, “increasing shipping fees” and “collecting redelivery fees” will be unavoidable.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is also concerned about the “increase in CO2 emissions” and is considering a proposal to “award points worth 100 yen” for “first-time recipients.
So here are some solutions I can think of.
(1) First, “delivery time zone designation” should be made “mandatory. Since the majority of “home delivery services” are ordered by oneself for oneself, “re-delivery” should be considerably prevented if “delivery time zone designation” is made in advance so that the delivery is made at one’s own home time. For those who need to specify the “day of the week” and “delivery date,” it would be better if they could additionally enter their desired “day of the week” and “delivery date.
In the case of gifts, it is sufficient to specify a “delivery time zone” in anticipation of the “recipient’s” home time. This means that you must be prepared for the possibility that the delivery time may be off.
(2) The next step is to charge a “re-delivery fee. (3) If “redelivery or re-delivery” occurs, the sender should be clearly informed that “additional shipping cost (re-delivery fee)” will be required, including the “amount”, at the stage before going to “order confirmation”.
(3) The “place of receipt” should normally be set to “home address,” but a “promotion notice” should be included here to the effect that “convenience store pickup” and “home delivery boxes” are also available. Since many people are still unaware of the new pick-up method, I believe that “notification” here will help to raise awareness of the new method.
(4) Lastly, use local housewives and middle-aged people as part-timers to make deliveries in combination with the small “bicycle transportation” or “motorcycle delivery” (like Yakult Lady) method. This is to be utilized for “small and lightweight cargo only” other than “frozen”, “heavy”, or “bulky” items.
I think this would be useful in “countering the chronic shortage of courier drivers” and “dealing with re-delivery and re-delivery…
We would like to request the consideration of all parties involved in the “Internet market,” “TV shopping,” “catalog shopping,” and “home delivery services.