Wedding Favors: 1 in 6 Go Unredeemed Before Expiry. The 'One-Way Gift' Problem, Worth 9.4 Billion Yen Annually, Revealed.

ParaLux Inc. (Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, CEO: Satoshi Murata), whose vision is to 'make each wedding, as each person imagines it, easy', conducted a 'Survey on Awareness of Wedding Favors' targeting 1,068 men and women in their 20s to 40s who have attended a wedding or reception as a guest within the past 5 years.

The survey results revealed that approximately 1 in 6 guests (17.8% for paper catalogs, 16.6% for digital gifts) do not exchange their favors within the validity period. The company has named this situation the 'One-Way Gift' and has quantitatively clarified its reality for the first time.

■ Survey Background

Wedding favors have long evolved from the 'giver chooses' experience of catalog gifts to a 'receiver chooses' experience. In recent years, the spread of digital gifts (QR/Web type) has been progressing, improving convenience.

However, the company believes there is an overlooked issue behind this evolution. The giver has no way of knowing when or what the recipient received, and even if the expiration date passes, the fact does not reach the couple. It can be said that wedding favors remain structurally one-way.

This survey was conducted with the aim of quantitatively visualizing this 'One-Way Gift' issue for the first time.

■ Survey Overview

Title: Survey on Awareness of Wedding Favors

Survey Period: April 2, 2026 - April 6, 2026

Survey Target: Men and women in their 20s to 40s who have attended a wedding or reception as a guest within the past 5 years

Valid Responses: 1,068 (Total including screening: 1,312)

Survey Organization: ParaLux Inc.

■ Survey Results Summary

Both paper and digital 'One-Way Gift Rate' is approximately 17% — the scale of the problem remains unchanged even when changing the format.

Top reason for not exchanging digital gifts is 'forgot' (60.7%) — the nature of the problem shifts from 'troublesome' (32.3%) for paper.

46.9% find paper catalog procedures 'troublesome', with the top reason being 'mailing the application postcard' (45.0%).

54.3% would choose digital for future wedding favors (2nd place: paper catalog at 18.0%).

88.2% responded that 'the giver's feelings are conveyed equally whether by catalog or digital'.

The 'One-Way Gift' Problem of Wedding Favors — Approximately 1 in 6 Go Unredeemed Before Expiry

What is a 'One-Way Gift'?

It is a state where, contrary to the giver's intentions, the recipient does not exchange (apply for) the product within the validity period, and the favor effectively does not reach them. The company defines this phenomenon as a 'One-Way Gift'.

The 'One-Way Gift Rate' for paper catalog gifts is 17.8%. This means that for approximately 1 out of 5 couples who gave favors, the favors effectively did not arrive. Digital gifts also show a similar rate of 16.6%, revealing that 'One-Way Gifts' occur structurally regardless of the format.

Top Reason for Not Exchanging is 'Forgot'

Digitalization halved the 'troublesomeness of procedures' from 32.3% to 16.9%. On the other hand, 'forgot' surged from 43.1% to 60.7%. A new problem has emerged where notifications are buried on smartphones, leading to forgotten exchanges.

The cause of non-exchange has merely shifted from 'troublesome' to 'forgetfulness', and the One-Way Gift Rate remains almost flat. The data clearly shows that simply digitalizing does not fundamentally solve the One-Way Gift problem.

Nearly Half Find Paper Catalog Favor Procedures 'Troublesome'

Regarding the procedures for paper-type catalog gifts, the total of 'very troublesome' (9.3%) and 'somewhat troublesome' (37.6%) was 46.9%, revealing that nearly half find it troublesome.

On the other hand, digital gifts had a total of 34.4% finding it 'troublesome', 13 points lower, highlighting the lower procedural burden.

Top 5 Reasons for Finding Paper Catalogs 'Troublesome'

The most common reason was 'mailing the application postcard' (45.0%). In today's increasingly digital world, resistance to analog postal application flows has become a major factor contributing to 'One-Way Gifts'.

WEB-type Digital Gifts Rank 1st for 'Ease of Use' and 'Would Choose'

54.3% of respondents said they would choose 'digital gifts (QR/Web type)' for future wedding favors, an overwhelming 1st place (2nd: paper catalog at 18.0%). Furthermore, 88.2% agreed that 'the giver's feelings are conveyed equally whether by catalog or digital', confirming that digitalization does not diminish the psychological 'feeling'.

■ Ranking of Most Memorable Wedding Favors

When asked in a free-response format about the 'most memorable' favor they had ever received (n=516), the results were as follows:

1st place was catalog gifts/gift cards with 145 responses (28.1%), an overwhelming majority. This indicates high satisfaction with the 'experience of choosing'. 2nd place was food/sweets/beverages (101 responses, 19.6%), and 3rd place was tableware/glasses/cups (90 responses, 17.4%).

■ Gender Differences in Favor Preferences

Analyzing memorable favors by gender, catalog gifts/gift cards were 1st for both men (30.2%) and women (28.5%), but other trends showed differences.

Men favored 'kitchenware/cooking utensils' (8.6%) and 'interior/goods' (3.7%). Women favored 'food/sweets/beverages' (21.1%) and 'beauty/hair care products' (4.7%), showing a lifestyle-oriented trend.

[Survey Summary] The Limits and Structural Issues of 'Digitalization of Wedding Favors' Highlighted

The shift to digital gifts aimed at reducing the burden on guests has progressed, and indeed over half support 'digital is better next time', showing an improvement in surface-level convenience. However, behind this, the reason for non-exchange has shifted from 'troublesome postcard' to 'forgetting on the smartphone', and as a result, the 'One-Way Gift Rate' of 'approximately 1 in 6 not exchanged' remains flat compared to the paper catalog era.

This demonstrates the limitation that simply 'replacing' the gift format from analog to digital does not fundamentally solve the problem of wasted feelings and money for the giver.

Calculated for an average-sized wedding, approximately 50,000 yen worth of wedding favors per couple effectively disappear without being used. Even considering the usage rate of catalog gifts for favors, it is estimated that over 9.4 billion yen worth of 'giver's feelings and money' go unexchanged annually across Japan.

(*1) Calculated based on 50.7 guests, average catalog gift unit price of 7,200 yen, and non-exchange rate of 16.6% (50.7 people x 16.6% ≈ 8.4 people, 7,200 yen x 8.4 people ≈ 60,000 yen). Guest numbers and unit prices are from Recruit Co., Ltd.'s 'Zexy Wedding Trend Survey 2024'.
(*2) Based on Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's 'Vital Statistics' (approx. 480,000 marriages per year), 'Zexy Wedding Trend Survey 2025' reception/wedding party implementation rate (43.1%), and 'Zexy Wedding Trend Survey 2024' (estimated catalog gift usage rate in 2018 at approx. 75%).