54.2% of E-Commerce Users Experience 'Self-Reward' Shopping: Over 90% Choose Goods, Only 1.0% Regret Their Purchases

Sporup Inc. (Headquarters: Chofu City, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shinjiro Yamamoto) conducted the 'Survey on Self-Reward E-Commerce 2026' targeting 500 active e-commerce users. This survey is the third installment of the consumer purchasing behavior series, following the preliminary survey conducted in March 2026 (n=6,000) and the 'In-depth Survey on E-commerce Review Reliability' conducted in April 2026. In contrast to the negative purchasing psychology of 'distrust in reviews' explored previously, this survey quantified the reality of 'rewarding oneself,' a positive purchasing motive. The following are the key points of the main results.

Experience of shopping on e-commerce sites as a 'reward for oneself': 54.2% (1 in 2 people). The self-reward experience rate tends to be higher among younger demographics: 62.5% in their 20s vs. 43.7% in their 60s and above. The number one self-reward genre across all age groups is 'sweets and gourmet foods': 47.9%. The content of the rewards was overwhelmingly 'goods' at 92.7%, while 'experiences' such as live concerts and travel accounted for 23.4%. The most common timing for self-reward purchases was 'undecided/daily': 44.3%. Only 1.0% of respondents 'regretted' their self-reward purchases (total satisfaction: 78.3%). Even amid growing cost-saving consciousness due to rising prices (77.2% answered 'cost-saving consciousness is increasing' in the preliminary survey), 1 in 2 people purchased 'rewards for themselves' via e-commerce. This confirms the reality of 'merihari consumption' (balanced consumption), where people tighten their purse strings when necessary but spend when they want to.

Survey Overview Survey name: Survey on 'Self-Reward E-Commerce' 2026 Survey method: Internet research Survey target: Active e-commerce users nationwide, male and female Valid responses: 500 (250 males / 250 females) Survey period: June 2, 2026 Surveying body: Sporup Inc., Research Division Supplementary reference data: E-Commerce Usage Reality Survey 2026 (Preliminary survey, n=6,000, conducted in March 2026) * Note: The genre, timing, amount, and satisfaction of rewards (Q2 to Q5) were aggregated based on 411 respondents, excluding the 89 who answered they 'have never' experienced self-reward purchases.

Details of Survey Results

Even in an era of savings, 1 in 2 people buys 'rewards for themselves'. When asked about their experience of shopping on e-commerce sites as a 'reward for oneself,' 13.8% said 'often' and 40.4% said 'sometimes,' totaling 54.2%—meaning that 1 in 2 people have experienced buying a reward for themselves. In our preliminary survey (n=6,000), 77.2% answered that their 'cost-saving consciousness is increasing,' indicating a tightening consumption mindset. On the other hand, this survey confirmed that reward consumption has permeated the majority of consumers, suggesting a structure of 'merihari consumption' where saving and spending on oneself coexist.

By age group: The younger they are, the more they 'buy rewards'. Over 60% of people in their 20s. Looking at the self-reward experience rate (often + sometimes) by age group, a clear downward trend was observed as age increases: 62.5% for those in their 20s, 61.7% in their 30s, 56.6% in their 40s, 50.0% in their 50s, and 43.7% for those in their 60s and above. This aligns with the spread of terms like 'reward consumption' and 'self-care consumption' centered on the social media of younger generations, suggesting that self-reward purchases have become a more common purchasing behavior among young people.

Content of rewards: The top genre across all ages is 'sweets and gourmet foods'. The top genres purchased as rewards (multiple answers, n=411) are as follows: Sweets and gourmet foods (ordered or high-end sweets, etc.): 47.9% Fashion and accessories: 31.6% Cosmetics and beauty: 25.8% Hobby items (DVDs, figures, merchandise, etc.): 24.1% Books, manga, and games: 21.2% Sweets and gourmet foods ranked first across all age groups from the 20s to the 60s and above, showing that 'reward = eating something a little nicer' is a common behavior transcending generations. Meanwhile, clear differences were seen by gender. The targets of rewards vary significantly by gender: cosmetics and beauty were chosen by 37.7% of women versus 13.1% of men; home appliances and gadgets by 26.6% of men versus 7.5% of women; and hobby items by 31.7% of men versus 17.0% of women.

Rewards are overwhelmingly 'goods' — Only about 1 in 20 people choose experiences alone. When classifying genres into 'goods' (food, cosmetics, fashion, home appliances, hobby items, books, etc.) and 'experiences' (entertainment experiences like live concerts/events, travel, and leisure), the results were: Those who chose goods: 92.7% Those who chose experiences: 23.4% Those who chose ONLY experiences: 4.9% In recent years, the trend from 'goods consumption to experience consumption' has been discussed, but when it comes to 'rewards for oneself,' goods still remain the main focus. Experiences are often combined with goods (18.5%), and only about 1 in 20 people 'choose only experiences as a reward.'

Rewards are not just for special days, but have become 'routine'. The top timings for making self-reward purchases (multiple answers, n=411) are as follows: Undecided / Daily: 44.3% (Most frequent) When I worked hard at my job: 29.4% Payday / Bonus: 25.6% When feeling down: 17.8% Anniversaries: 15.1% The most common answer was 'Undecided / Daily'. There is a tendency for self-reward purchases to be incorporated as self-care in daily life, rather than being tied to 'special days' like paydays or anniversaries.

Unit prices are mostly for 'little luxuries'. However, over 10,000 yen accounts for 20%. The average spending amount per self-reward purchase (n=411) was most commonly 'up to 5,000 yen' at 28.0%. The total for 5,000 yen or less was 61.1%, indicating that the mainstream of reward consumption is 'little luxuries' on the scale of several thousand yen. On the other hand, 'over 10,000 yen' accounted for 20.2%, suggesting a structure of reward consumption with two peaks: the 'daily little luxury segment' and the 'significant self-investment segment'.

Self-reward purchases are rarely regretted. Post-purchase satisfaction regarding self-reward purchases (n=411) showed that 31.4% were 'satisfied' and 47.0% were 'somewhat satisfied,' making the total satisfaction rate 78.3%. Those who felt 'somewhat regretful' or 'regretful' totaled only 1.0% (4 people). In our previous survey (E-commerce Review Reliability Survey), 65.4% of respondents had abandoned a purchase due to distrust in reviews, illustrating the 'doubts and hesitations' in e-commerce purchasing. However, it is evident that purchases made as a reward yield an extremely high level of satisfaction.