Supermarket sales extended their losing streak to 18 straight months in August, while department store sales slumped for the first time in three months, industry groups said Monday.
Supermarket sales in August fell 2.9 percent on a same-store basis from a year earlier to 1.167 trillion yen, as a powerful typhoon kept many shoppers away, the Japan Chain Stores Association said in a preliminary report covering 8,576 stores operated by 95 supermarket chains.
The association also attributed the decline to one less Sunday in August this year.
Household emergency supplies, including flashlights and battery-free radios, sold well due to a series of earthquakes. But poor sales of suits, ties, furniture and audiovisual products curbed overall sales, it said.
Separately, the Japan Department Stores Association said department store sales fell 0.7 percent to 516.8 billion yen on a same-store basis, a turnaround from an increase of 1.1 percent in July, although shoppers continued to show buying interest in the "Cool Biz" casual office clothing campaign.
A fall of 6.1 percent in Tokyo department store sales dealt a blow to the headline figure, it said.
Clothing sales, the largest segment for department stores, marked the first fall in three months, of 1.0 percent.