While unmarried, childless women in their thirties have sometimes been referred to unkindly as "losers," they have also become an important demographic for businesses seeking to turn a profit. Cafés, bars, hotels, and restaurants catering to women who come alone have recently been springing up in major metropolitan areas. The term o-hitori sama, which is perhaps best rendered in English as "just for one," has been coined to denote such customers.

The phrase has its roots in a group founded by the late journalist Iwashita Kumiko in 1999 called O-hitori Sama Kojo Iinkai (the Committee for Advancing the Interests of People Who Do Things Alone). This group has a website that showcases establishments that are suited to women who like to go places by themselves.

In the past it was difficult for women to stay at hotels or ryokan (Japanese inns) by themselves. Many times they found themselves refused by proprietors who wondered about their circumstances. Nowadays, however, many such establishments are offering spacious and comfortable rooms geared toward people who wish to stay alone. An increasing number of restaurants are also striving to maintain an atmosphere that makes women entering on their own feel comfortable. Many offer counter-only seating or a combination of counter seating and separate tables for groups, making it easy for lone customers to enter and feel at ease. While there is a chance that a woman drinking alone might be approached by a man, staff at these establishments pass by periodically and check that nothing compromises their customers' comfort.

One particular type of establishment that has always been rather difficult for anyone, male or female, to enter alone is yakiniku (Korean-style barbecued beef) restaurants, where groups of diners eat around a grill and cook the meat themselves. Some restaurants have taken to offering half-portions suited to a single person and placing grills at a counter, allowing customers to eat alone in comfort.

Like working men, there are also times when women need a place where they can stop for a drink or a bite to eat on the way home, and as young women now have more disposable income than they did in years past, businesses catering to this clientele appear to have a bright future.