Japan department store sales down 3.1% in August

September 19, 2008
By Ken Worsley

According to data released yesterday by the Japan Department Stores Association, sales at the nation’s 280 department stores fell 3.1% in August, showing a decline for the sixth consecutive month.

Once again, the JDSA is citing bad weather as a contributor to the decline in sales, and there was quite a stretch of rain and thunderstorms at the end of August. Here’s a breakdown for August sales figures by category:

Clothing: 31.6% of total sales, down 4.3%
Personal Effects: 12.9% of total sales, down 3.6%
Miscellaneous Goods: 15.7% of total sales, down 1.6%
Household Goods: 5.3% of total sales, down 8.9%
Food: 28.0% of total sales, down 0.3%
Services: 1.2% of total sales, down 3.4%
Other: 1.6% of total sales, down 12.5%
Gift Certificates: 3.3% of total sales, down 12.2%

Notably, food sales fell for the second month in a row after having had several strong months of increase.

Filed Under Department Stores, Economic Reports, Retail