Tokyo--September 18, 2024--Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with Mabu Data Technology, provider of Invos Data services for sei-katsu-sha analysis with data covering over 3 billion actual purchases in Taiwan (Note 1), with the aim of developing cross-border marketing solutions leveraging purchase data on Taiwanese sei-katsu-sha. Under this partnership, we will further advance the research and development activities of the Marketing Technology Development Division (MTDD), our R&D arm.

Expansion of inbound demand from Taiwan, and local businesses
In January-March 2024, inbound tourists from Taiwan exceeded 1.47 million, up 24.3% from the pre-pandemic period of January-March 2019 (Note 2). According to the Japan Tourism Agency's International Visitor Survey, spending by foreign tourists in Japan hit a record high in 2023 at \5,306.5 billion, up 10.2% on 2019. By country/territory of origin, tourists from Taiwan top the list with \783.5 billion (14.8% of total spending by foreign tourists) (Note 3), attesting to the rapid expansion of inbound demand from Taiwan. The territory is also attracting attention from Japanese companies as a key stepping stone to growing their market in Asia.

Partnership with a leading provider of receipt data analysis services in Taiwan (Note 4) to assist Japanese companies with cross-border full-funnel marketing
Against this backdrop, we have signed a partnership agreement with Mabu Data Technology, a leading receipt data research provider in Taiwan, to boost sales in Japan to inbound Taiwanese tourists and to help Japanese companies that are considering entering the Taiwanese market to operate cross-border full-funnel marketing in Taiwan. With data on more than 3 billion purchases in Taiwan, Mabu offers Invos Data services including market opportunity analysis, competitor analysis and consumer insight.

In partnership with one of the largest providers of online/offline purchase data in Taiwan, we will break new ground by providing big data analysis to obtain a comprehensive view of Taiwanese sei-katsu-sha and big data-driven New Sei-katsu-sha Research (Note 5), and by developing various marketing solutions ranging from media planning to support for full-funnel marketing including through ID-based ad delivery, purchase measurement and loyal customer development, and to the application of data marketing.

Prior to signing the agreement, the MTDD conducted sei-katsu-sha research in Taiwan leveraging Mabu's data on over 3 billion online/offline purchases. We have also completed integrating the research data into our proprietary media planning tools, which can be used by Japanese companies considering entering the Taiwanese market to plan for local marketing.

Examples of sei-katsu-sha research
-　Brand penetration survey covering those who purchased a specific category of product in the last 12 months
-　Survey on how a specific brand or product is used by its purchasers
-　Campaign tracking survey

Receipt culture in Taiwan
In Taiwan, receipts for payment carry a 2D code and an eight-digit number, serving not only as evidence for purchases but also as a lottery number. The winning numbers are announced every other month, and the luckiest winners can win as much as 10 million TWD (approx. 40 million JPY). Multiple receipt apps to manage this whole process have emerged since around 2017.

The receipt lottery system, which was introduced to prevent tax evasion and stabilize tax revenue, is financed by the Taiwanese government with business tax collected from the private sector. These receipt numbers, which also serve as lottery numbers, effectively encourage consumers to ask retailers for receipts, thereby ensuring that proper receipts are issued.

Mabu Data Technology
Mabu Data Technology offers Invos Data, Invos App and other related products. Invos App in particular allows Taiwanese consumers to save electronic receipts. Already downloaded over 8 million times, this app always reaches the top of the download chart during the season when winning numbers are announced. After anonymizing personal information, Invos Data can perform accurate real-time analysis of consumer behavior with advanced data analysis technology and the anonymized spending data covering over 3 billion purchases.

Note 1 Source: Mabu Data Technology (as of March 31, 2024)
Note 2 Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), "Statistics of Overseas Residents' Visits to Japan" (estimate as of March 2024)
Note 3 Source: Japan Tourism Agency, "International Visitor Survey: Annual Data for 2023 (Final Estimate)"
Note 4 Source: Mabu Data Technology data on total downloads (iOS and Android) of receipt apps offered in Taiwan in H1 FY2023
Note 5 Research solution combining data on the actual behavior of sei-katsu-sha owned by data holders outside Japan and proprietary Hakuhodo DY Group sei-katsu-sha research to support sei-katsu-sha insight planning and marketing based on deep insight into sei-katsu-sha and the market