Sales at supermarkets fell 0.9 percent on a same-store basis in August from a year earlier to 1.195 trillion yen for the second straight monthly drop, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Wednesday.
Sales were strong for summer goods, notably ice cream and soft drinks during the nationwide heat wave, but sales of autumn goods were slack, the association said.
Food, accounting for 59.2 percent of overall sales, rose 1.1 percent to 706.9 billion yen due to robust sales of summer products and dried noodles and soup stock.
Sales of clothing fell 2.1 percent to 149.2 billion yen as weak sales of autumn clothing offset strong sales of summer clothing.
Daily commodities such as medical and cosmetic goods, furniture and electrical appliances were down 4.1 percent to 234.7 billion yen.
The data covered 101 supermarket operators nationwide.
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