Market Overview

Based on final consumption values, the nighttime economy market (*) reached 9.8459 trillion yen in FY2024, marking a 3.4% increase from the previous fiscal year.

*) In this research, the nighttime economy market refers to the market size of economic activities occurring from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Market size is based on the total final consumption value of the following categories: fast food chains, drinking establishments (e.g., pubs and bars), food-serving nightlife businesses (e.g., cabaret clubs and small-scale hostess bars), convenience stores, drugstores, call-girl businesses, hot-pillow hotels, karaoke businesses, round-the-clock fitness gyms, cinemas and cinema complexes, hot spring complexes, amusement cafés (e.g., manga cafés and internet cafes), and scenic night view businesses. The size of drinking establishments, food-serving nightlife businesses and hot-pillow hotels is calculated based on final consumption values for full hours. 

Due to the enormous scale of nighttime consumption, the following categories—drinking establishments, convenience stores, drugstores, and call-girl businesses—respectively exceed one trillion yen. Since the recovery period from the pandemic, these categories have experienced stable consumption, which continued in FY2024 and contributed to the expansion of the nighttime economy market. Drugstores, in particular, have significantly increased their sales after 9 p.m., which represented their acceptance of an influx of consumers and foreign tourists' nighttime spending, as well as their contribution to market expansion.

Noteworthy Topics

Number of Nighttime Visits in Three Major Convenience Store Brands

From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in FY2024, a total of 3.74286 billion visits were made to three major convenience stores: Seven-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson (*). This number was five times higher than that of fast food chains, nine times higher than drugstores, and 65 times higher than karaoke businesses. These figures demonstrate that convenience stores have indeed become the primary infrastructure supporting massive nighttime spending.
*) The survey was conducted by Yano Research Institute.

Future Outlook

Since the start of FY2025, a further increase in commodity prices, particularly food prices, has affected visits to drinking establishments, resulting in a modest decline in the size of this category. Despite an increase in unit price spending per customer, it was not enough to offset the loss from declining visits. Other categories have remained prosperous, experiencing an influx of nighttime visits, especially by inbound customers, as well as increased customer spending due to higher product and service prices. Because of the growth of these booming markets, the nighttime economy market is expected to grow further.
Yano Research Institute estimates that the nighttime economy market will reach 10.0204 trillion yen in FY2025, marking a 1.8% increase from the previous fiscal year.

In the medium to long term, an increase in nighttime visits by both domestic consumers and foreign tourists, as well as increased customer spending due to higher prices for products and services will contribute to the nighttime economy for the time being.
Additionally, Japan’s nighttime safety has high potential for nighttime economy to thrive, even compared to other major countries worldwide. However, labor shortages and overly biased administrative measures are preventing the full utilization of this potential. Market growth is expected to remain limited, as long as the current market environment continues.

Research Outline