*Originally published in Japanese in AdverTimes on June 27th, 2025.
English translation by the author.
Photo: Niena Etsuko Hino
From Experience Design to Business Strategy—and What Japan Can Learn
In Part 1, we examined how pickleball embodies the hybridization of experience and the redefinition of spatial value in urban life.
In Part 2, the focus shifts to what this movement reveals for business strategy—and how these insights might translate to the Japanese market.
Designing for Ease: Reaching New Customers Through Accessibility
Pickleball’s most defining characteristic is how easy it is to start.
The sport requires little specialized knowledge or equipment, and that simplicity offers a powerful lesson for customer engagement across industries.
At CityPickle, the experience goes far beyond court rentals. One of its most notable offerings is a community play program designed for all skill levels, priced at just $5 per day, with the explicit goal of introducing players to the joy of pickleball in Central Park. Paddle rentals are available for $6, and even the question of attire is addressed clearly on the website: comfortable athletic wear and non-marking court shoes are required, while personal style is “not required, but welcome.”
Reservations are necessary, but participants don’t need to invest in gear or long-term commitments. In effect, pickleball can be experienced as an extension of a casual walk through Central Park—arrive ready to move, and everything else is provided.
This customer journey is a clear example of prioritizing accessibility over expertise. While traditional sports clubs often assume improvement and long-term commitment, pickleball facilities position experience and social interaction as the entry point.
This approach is widely applicable. In many industries, perceived difficulty becomes a barrier to first-time engagement. Pickleball’s model—sessions typically lasting around one hour—demonstrates how value can be delivered efficiently while maintaining high turnover and operational flexibility.
Equally important is the quality of the experience created by this ease of entry. By minimizing friction, businesses gain access to customer segments that were previously difficult to reach. This logic mirrors strategies seen in free trials for subscription services or experiential retail concepts, where the goal is to lower psychological resistance and invite participation.
Urban Flexibility as a New Form of Value
Another force driving the pickleball boom is a shift in how urban residents perceive time.
In an era where flexibility—the ability to respond to spontaneous invitations—has become a form of social value, pickleball functions as an activity that people can realistically say “yes” to on short notice.
As business attire has grown increasingly casual, pickleball fits naturally into modern urban routines. With a quick change of clothes or shoes, it becomes an accessible option after work, closer to removing a jacket than preparing for a formal sporting event.
That said, accessibility does not always mean immediate availability. The sport’s popularity means that courts and classes are often fully booked. Yet last-minute cancellations, combined with efficient online reservation systems, sometimes allow participants to join unexpectedly. Equipment rentals on-site further support this spontaneity.
For service providers, this requires a departure from models built around strictly planned consumption. Instead, systems must be designed to accommodate fluid schedules and opportunistic participation.
What New York Suggests About the Japanese Market
What pickleball ultimately reveals is not just a trend, but a shift in the underlying assumptions of urban life. Consumers are increasingly seeking activities that combine health, social interaction, and cultural relevance—and this shift is already visible in Japan.
Among Gen Z and Millennials, particularly those aged roughly 25 to 34, three themes stand out:
hybridized experiences, multi-purpose spaces, and low-friction participation. These dynamics extend well beyond sports, with implications for retail, food and beverage, entertainment, and real estate.
In Japan, this could translate into “pickleball-like” place-making initiatives—using vacant areas in shopping streets or underutilized corporate-owned spaces to create environments where people naturally gather. The focus should not be on the sport itself, but on understanding the structural conditions that encourage organic participation and blending those insights into local business development.
Three Strategic Takeaways From the Pickleball Phenomenon
Photo: Niena Etsuko Hino
The pickleball movement can be distilled into three key strategic principles:
1. Hybrid Experience Design
Rather than offering a single function, successful platforms deliver multiple forms of value simultaneously. The integration of exercise, social interaction, and style reflects a platform mindset that many industries can adopt.
2. Minimizing Participation Barriers
By avoiding demands for expertise or long-term commitment, pickleball embraces the mindset of “just trying it.” One-time, self-contained experiences become meaningful touchpoints for customer engagement.
3. Redefining Spatial Value
Spaces are no longer defined solely by their original function. Reimagining locations as places people want to stay and return to creates experiential value that extends beyond physical utility.
Looking Ahead: Scalability and Adaptation in Japan
The pickleball phenomenon in New York has evolved rapidly—from a niche, backyard-oriented activity associated largely with older players before 2020, to a polished and contemporary element of urban culture shaped by CityPickle’s pop-up strategy.
What stands out most in this evolution is the speed at which existing infrastructure has been repurposed. Partial conversions of tennis courts, rooftop installations, and the activation of previously unused building-front spaces have taken place within just two to three years. This approach is highly transferable to dense Japanese cities.
Pricing strategy is another important lesson. CityPickle’s $5 entry point dramatically lowers the psychological barrier to participation. That price sensitivity—positioned as an invitation to experiment—would likely resonate in Japanese urban centers as well.
Ultimately, the sport itself is secondary. What matters is the design philosophy behind it: experiences that conclude within an hour, require no equipment, and allow beginners to participate without embarrassment. In Japan, lowering that third barrier—fear of standing out or failing—may be especially impactful.
If these conditions are met, similar engagement effects could emerge even without pickleball itself.
A Signal Worth Paying Attention To
What is happening in New York is not a passing fad.
Pickleball has become a mirror reflecting broader shifts in urban values and behavior. For those shaping next-generation business strategy, it represents a signal that cannot be ignored.
The real challenge now is not simply observing the trend, but recognizing its implications early—and translating them into new forms of experiential value that resonate with evolving consumer expectations.