As night falls, the lights are on, and the colorful nightlife is gorgeous. Midnight Food Store’s delicious rice, dazzling fireworks show, the song and dance theater was packed … … Food, travel, shopping, entertainment, sports and exhibitions, with the continuous enrichment of consumption patterns, the "night economy" has become a new bright spot in many countries to enhance the vitality of cities and stimulate consumption growth.
Japan: Night consumption is very rich.
In downtown Tokyo, it’s not easy to have dinner, because you always have to wait. In Japan, the city after work is quite lively. "Night economy" has become an important engine to stimulate consumption and stimulate Japan’s economic development.
When Midnight Food Store is mentioned, most people think of Japanese directly. Catering industry is called the second largest main industry in Japan after automobile manufacturing. According to the survey and research center of Japan Catering Service Association, the market size of Japanese catering industry reached 33.9 trillion yen in 2018. Among them, catering and accommodation business reached 20.8 trillion yen, and night consumption accounted for more than 60%.
There are many kinds of night restaurants in Japan, including high-grade kiosks and popular small restaurants. Among them, the pub (izakaya) is the most common storefront in Japanese streets. Colleagues, classmates and teams can form "classmates’ meetings" and often get together for a drink. Japanese often say that wine is the lubricant of society. In many restaurants, you need to look at the menu to order food, but the drinks are all-inclusive and unlimited in one to two hours. The Japanese also love to "change places", and it is the best proof of the close relationship between friends that they turn around several pubs in one night.
Recently, new tricks have appeared in Japanese restaurants. Kikkoman, a famous soy sauce manufacturer, has set up a "LIVE Live Restaurant" near Ginza, Tokyo — — In Kikkoman Tokyo Live Restaurant, the cooking masters demonstrated the cooking skills to the diners in the form of live broadcast. While cooking, they humorously explained the characteristics of the dishes, the origin of ingredients, nutritional value, cooking precautions, etc., and there was a TV presenter next to them to ask various questions. Similar new things are very popular, and many seats have been booked during the Olympic Games next year.
In addition to catering, night cultural and recreational activities are also colorful. Theaters, cinemas and concert halls are the places where literary and art fans stay the most, and traditional Japanese plays and popular European and American plays complement each other. The late-night movie theater is a good place for people who are busy with work during the day and don’t want to miss the latest movies. A reporter friend of the author claimed that the newly released movies in recent years had hardly fallen, and asked him the trick. It turned out that after the newspaper cut off at 1 o’clock midnight, he was so excited that he couldn’t sleep, and he just went to the late-night cinema to refresh the film. Some cinemas will also offer discounts for ladies and multi-night packages to attract customers. In summer, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks, etc. will also open special night tours and have full-time commentators to attract primary and secondary school students to participate in night activities.
In order to welcome the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the Japanese government is making every effort to expand comprehensive services such as transportation, hotels, shopping and catering. Local governments regard nightlife as an important means to improve the competitiveness of cities. Mu Zengchong, director of Japan International Entertainment Industry Research Institute, said that local governments pay more attention to economic growth and have made great efforts to activate night consumption. Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and other cities have made brilliant efforts to develop local service industries.
Shibuya, Tokyo is the birthplace of popular culture and a paradise for young people. There are many theaters and video game halls, and various cultural activities such as Japanese festivals and Western festivals continue. Yokohama gives full play to the advantages of a port city, and holds fireworks parties, masked parades and other activities. The go-kart race at night in Muzhang City, Chiba Prefecture is also very distinctive, attracting many young people from Tokyo to show their fists.
In recent years, with the widening income gap of Japanese people, people’s entertainment and consumption situation also tends to be diversified. People of different classes and hobbies can find their own consumption places at night. Mr. Mu Zeng, a critic, said: "From the perspective of consumer psychology, most people have a higher desire to spend at night than during the day. At this time, people’s management of money bags is relatively loose."
In Tokyo, trams, subways and other public transportation basically ended at around 1 am. Therefore, around midnight is called the third peak period after the morning peak and the evening peak. A few years ago, the governor of Tokyo once put forward the idea of 24-hour non-stop public transportation, but it has not been realized so far because of the cost of train and track maintenance and operation. Some passengers who can’t catch the last bus can only take a taxi home or find a hotel nearby to stay. In the future, with the popularization of autonomous driving technology, traffic obstacles that restrict night consumption are expected to be alleviated. It seems that there is still much room for development in Japan’s midnight consumption.
Indonesia: "Midnight Shopping" is an addiction
In Indonesia, as long as you bring enough money, "midnight shopping" will definitely make you addicted. "Midnight shopping" is a highlight of Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, the largest economy in ASEAN and the third largest consumer market in Asia.
During major festivals, the Indonesian Federation of Shopping Centers will organize shopping centers in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bali and other cities to extend their business hours, usually until midnight or two or three in the morning, and some even until the next morning. In the days of "midnight shopping", there is often a "big traffic jam" when you leave the main road of the city in the middle of the night.
The author, a friend who lives in the business circle of "Indonesia Square" in the city center, once got caught in the rolling traffic of "midnight shopping" when driving home from the New Year party, and was unable to move into the gate of his own community for more than an hour. Because it was New Year’s Eve, more than 250 businesses, large and small, in Indonesia Square were all open until after midnight.
Just extending the business hours may not attract so many "night owl consumers". The "magic weapon" for Indonesian businessmen is to let consumers "chop their hands and feet" at a big price reduction. At the "Saturday Night Carnival" in BSD City, which just ended not long ago, merchants put out attractive advertisements of "Sincerity, limited time and 20% discount", and on the basis of discount, they also launched a "return when full" activity, with a maximum coupon of about 250 yuan RMB. Consumers can also participate in the lucky draw with the invoice, and the prizes are luxury business class trips in Paris, London and new york. So tempting, how can we not let consumers move? On the day of the event, this new shopping mall located at the entrance of the airport expressway actually triggered the wonder of the main road from the city center to the airport from the evening peak to midnight.
In addition to discounts and lucky draws, Indonesian businesses also have "trump cards" — — Entertainment shopping. Amelia, senior manager of BSD City, said that in order to attract consumers, merchants would invite many famous singers and movie stars to hold "Bazaar the Artist" on the day of the event. Take the activities in BSD City as an example, consumers can watch the performances on the spot, chat with idols, take selfies and share their shopping mood. The mall also selected some local brand goods for on-site auction, and all the proceeds were donated to the orphanage.
If you are not interested in stars, Indonesian businesses still have a bunch of "tricks" — — Parent-child brand, respect for the elderly brand, beauty brand, national style brand and so on. In the shopping mall, the children playing wildly in the children’s paradise were overjoyed; Uncle, aunt and even grandparents are out at midnight, singing loudly on the stage of "Good Voice of Indonesia"; In front of the counters of cosmetics and skin care products, well-known beauty artists design shapes and take care of makeup for "small owners" free of charge; There are also national fashion shows from hundreds of tribes across the country, which are novel and "spicy".
In fact, "midnight shopping" or "night economy" is a microcosm of Indonesia’s national economy. According to the latest data from Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia’s economic growth rate was 5.05% in the second quarter of this year, which has remained in the range of 4.9% to 5.3% for 14 consecutive quarters, with the global economic turmoil intensifying and emerging economies facing downward pressure. Among them, the contribution rate of household consumption to Indonesia’s economic growth has been close to 60% for a long time. In the second quarter, the growth rate of total consumption rose to 5.17%, slightly higher than the 5.02% in the first quarter, and the business confidence index also improved. The Bank of Indonesia issued a statement saying that Indonesia’s consumer confidence index is generally at its best level since 2000, and the inflation level is running at a low level for a long time.
Some Indonesian economists predict that Indonesia’s per capita GDP is expected to exceed 4,500 US dollars in 2019, and it can reach 12,000 US dollars at purchasing power parity, which is second only to Brazil and China in the "National Club of 200 million people". Stimulating domestic demand and encouraging consumption is a major driving force for Indonesia’s economic growth.
"This year ‘ Midnight shopping ’ I want to buy it! Buy! Buy! " Dai Wei, a 24-year-old Indonesian girl, told me that she had just found a job in a well-known mobile phone brand manufacturer in China, and she was more confident to participate in the midnight shopping spree.
France: The Literary Style of "Night Paris"
Say, a French economist, once said: "It is not good for business to encourage consumption only, because the difficulty lies not in the desire to stimulate consumption, but in the means to supply consumption." The characteristics of night economy in France, which is famous for its "Paris at night" model, fully verify this theory and bring diversified highlights to French economic development.
At present, the mode of "Paris at night" in France is not only confined to the traditional fields represented by bars, restaurants and other single entertainment consumption, but also increasingly extended to more fields such as art, culture, deduction, retail and so on, making the charm of French culture and art more brilliant and eye-catching with the help of the mode of "Paris at night". Some French media commented that "Night Paris" lit up France.
Light show, light up the city context with regional culture. Almost every French city regularly holds light shows with regional characteristics, and all kinds of creative lighting decorations are spread all over the corner, telling the historical classic stories of the city emotionally. This perfect combination of modern technology and traditional culture has become an important way for French people to enjoy leisure and tourists from all over the world to understand French customs.
Among them, the light show in Lyon, the second largest city in France, is the most famous. In addition to the annual Lantern Festival in early December, Lyon also has colorful lighting in series with Notre Dame de Fourier, the old city, the river Thorne and other scenic spots, which makes Lyon glow with different brilliance under the night. As one of the "three major lighting festivals" in the world, the Lyon Lighting Festival began in 1852, originally to celebrate the completion of the gilded bronze statue of the Virgin Mary. In 1980, the municipal government of Lyon implemented the Urban Lighting Planning, which made lighting an important part of the urban landscape and connected it with history and culture, forming an international lighting festival with a more humanistic atmosphere. The four-day lighting energy-saving in Lyon attracts more than 4 million tourists every year, which effectively promotes the development of the tertiary industry such as local accommodation, catering and entertainment.
Visit the museum at night and light the spark of thought with the light of culture. In Paris with the Louvre, cultural gluttony never disappoints people. After a busy day, cultural attractions at night are more attractive. Without the noise during the day, it is a pleasure to wander around the historic sites in quiet nights and enjoy the beauty of Paris gracefully at night.
The French government has always attached great importance to the layout and management of cultural attractions and the innovation of cultural industries, and Paris has promoted the night economy with cultural industries as the core by extending business hours, increasing night performances in theaters, night tours in museums and extending subway operation hours. Every year, France organizes about 1,200 museums to participate in the "Night of European Museums", which is open for free until the early hours of the morning, and receives an average of more than 2 million visitors every year, including "big-name" museums such as Pompidou Cultural Center, Louvre and Orsay Museum. In addition to opening at night in a specific period, Paris’s theaters, museums and other cultural attractions have also extended their opening hours to varying degrees with the support of the government, making cultural consumption a characteristic label of Paris’s "night economy".
Fireworks show, lighting up the sky with gorgeous fireworks. In addition to New Year’s Day, National Day and other important festivals, many scenic spots in France have also launched gorgeous fireworks shows, which make tourists feel different audio-visual feasts through the ingenious integration of lights, fountains, music and fireworks. As one of the five largest palaces in the world, Versailles has launched large fountains, classical music and fireworks displays in the summer.
When night falls, the back garden of Versailles Palace is decorated as a gorgeous stage for the fire tree and silver flowers. Accompanied by the elegant melody of baroque music, the mirror pool, the water and the moon are dancing and dancing, and the light and shadow of the colonnade jungle are chasing each other, so that tourists can taste the Versailles where light turns to sound against the bright fireworks. The launch of the fireworks show also promoted the development of tourism in surrounding towns.
