The JCCU has released a summary report on the results of the "2024 Nationwide Co-op Members' Awareness Survey".

This survey, conducted every three years since FY 1994, investigates the awareness and behaviors of co-op members nationwide, particularly with regard to lifestyle changes and purchasing trends. The 2024 survey is the 11th iteration and received 5,666 valid responses.

The most common response across all age groups to rising prices was "shifting to purchasing food and daily necessities from more affordable sources". Only 6.2% of respondents reported "no significant lifestyle changes". Age group analysis revealed differences in response: younger respondents (in their 20's and 30's) were more likely to report "downgrading the grade of food and daily necessities" or "buying larger, more cost-effective sizes", indicating a preference for quantity and cost-performance over compromising on quality. In contrast, middle-aged and older groups (50s-80s and above) tended to "reduce the quantity of food and daily necessities" they purchase and "make efforts to cut costs on utilities such as water and electricity".

Regarding price increases, when asked whether they "believe price hikes are inevitable due to rising labor and raw material costs", 26.2% of respondents "agreed", and 58.4% "somewhat agreed", with over 80% of respondents acknowledging the inevitability of price increases.

In response to the question of whether they would "prefer to avoid price increases even at the cost of reducing quantities", those in their 50s and over expressed stronger agreement, while younger groups (20s-40s) were more likely to "disagree" or "somewhat disagree".  Comparing responses by age group, the percentage of people who answered "agree" or "somewhat agree" increased with age.

On food purchasing attitudes, co-op members showed a clear preference for domestic products, with strong support for health-conscious choices and a tendency to favor homemade meals.

A significant 74.0% of respondents reported they "attempt to choose domestic food products", 52.7% "prioritize health-conscious foods", and 50.1% "try to buy fresh ingredients for home cooking". However, younger age groups "prioritize cost-effectiveness" when making food purchases.

The use of devices for internet access revealed a shift towards increased use of "television" to connect to the internet, rising from 8.9% in the previous survey (2021) to 17.9%.

"Smartphone" usage also grew, increasing from 75.9% to 82.0%, while the use of "computers", "tablets", and "home gaming consoles" decreased. Notably, among those aged 65 and older, "smartphone" usage rose from 52.6% to 64.2%, signifying widespread adoption of "smartphones" among seniors for internet access.

When asked about the most pressing social issues, "pension issues" emerged as the top concern, with 70.2% of respondents citing it as a major issue. Other concerns, such as "elderly care", "natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes)"and "climate change", received response rates exceeding 60%.

In many of the survey questions, it was found that the older age groups tended to have higher response rates, revealing a greater concern for social issues. The younger age groups, on the other hand, had higher response rates for social issues related to children, such as "a society and environment that makes it difficult to have and raise children", "problems of child poverty, educational disparities and young carers (a person under the age of 18 who provides care to their family (such as housework, etc.) because they have a family member who needs care)"and the "growing economic inequality".