These are the results from a survey taken on May 3, 2007 by the Anime Society of George Washington University. There were thirteen members of the club available at the time. Twelve surveys were answered. One person declined because he was employed by Anime Pavilion, a direct competitor. My main target audience is mainly college students and high school students. While this was a small club, we got a great response from the GWUAS. Some of the assumptions about the target audience in general were on the right track. Most of the GWUAS members live in DC, mainly on campus and worked part-time. There were others things that we were wrong about. We had assumed that they shopped with the local direct competition. Only a small number said that they did. We plan on doing another survey at DC Anime Club on May 19th and maybe another during Otakon on July 20th through July 22nd.
Question #1: As an otaku, which do you prefer?
l 66% prefer anime and manga equally
l 16% prefer anime over manga
l 16% prefer manga over anime
Question #2: Where do you shop for anime and manga?
l 75% shop at Barnes and Noble or Borders bookstore
l 42% shop online
l Amazon, eBay, DiscountAnimeDVD.com, and Rightstuf.com were the online stores mentioned on the survey.
l 33% shop at Best Buy or Circuit City
l 25% shop at anime conventions
l Katsucon and Anime USA were the anime conventions mentioned.
l 16% shop at Anime FX, Pandora’s Cube or Anime Pavilion
l Arise was another local store mentioned.
l 8% don’t shop for anime and manga
l 58% said they shop at two or more outlets.
Question #3: How often do you shop?
l 33% shop twice a month
l 25% shop once a week or more
l 25% shop once every few months
l 16% shop rarely
Question #4: What guides your decision to buy?
Top Five Answers are:
l Price and Quality
l Value and Discounts/Sales
l Convenience of Store Location
l Attractiveness of Packaging
l Store appearance
Question #5: Name the one thing that can change your decision to buy at a particular shop.
You said you were more likely to buy if:
l there are hard-to-find items
l frequent sales and discounts
l there are snacks
l a good selection
l a reading room
l a reward program
l have the latest stuff
l atmosphere
Questions #6 and #7: Do you like Japanese food and if so, what kind would you like served in a restaurant, other than sushi or tempura?
You wanted:
l Pocky
l Ramune
l Japanese-style curry
l ice-cream
l fancy drinks
l Japanese candy and sweets
l noodles dishes (soba, udon, ramen, etc.)
l fruit parfaits
l rice balls
l shabu-shabu
Question #8: What magazines do you subscribe to or buy often?
l 50% don’t read magazines
l 25% read Newtype
l 16% read Shônen Jump or Shôjo Beat
l 8% read Anime Insider
l Other magazines include Maximum PC and PSM
Question #9: What other thing in J-Pop culture do you like?
l Video games: 92%
l Japanese Music: 58%
l Cosplay: 33%
l Plastic models/figurines: 33%
l Gothic Lolita: 17%
l Others include traditional items
Question #10: What other things would you like for us to sell?
l Translations
l Novels
l Art books
l Figurines
l Plushies
l Pins
l T-shirts
l Soundtracks
l Generic Cosplay items (cat ears, paste jewels, etc.)
l Candy
l Traditional Japanese Games
Question #11: How old are you?
Most of you (83%) are aged between 18 and 22.
Question #12: Where do you live?
Most of you (83%) live in the Washington, DC. Of that number 70% live in Northwest.
Question #13: What is gender?
l 75% is male
l 25% is female
Question #14: Describe your marital status.
l 100% of you are single. One volunteered that she is in a happy, long-term relationship.
Question #15: Do you work? If so, how often?
l 58% work part-time
l 33% are not working
l 8% work full-time
In conclusion, the average GWU Anime Society member is:
l a part-timer
l lives on campus
l male
l single
l shops for anime and manga at least twice a month
l doesn’t normally shop at local anime stores
l prefer anime and manga equally
