Japan's department store sales in July dropped 20.3 percent from a year earlier due to the continuing impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the prolonged rainy season, an industry body said Friday.
The poor outcome was slightly worse than the 19.1 percent fall recorded in June, marking the 10th consecutive month of decline, according to the data released by the Japan Department Stores Association.
A resurgence of virus infections across the country continued to weigh on department store sales as people refrained from going out while department store operators avoided holding price reduction and other promotions to attract customers, the association said.
In July, sales at 203 outlets run by 73 companies totaled 391.28 billion yen ($3.7 billion) on a same-store basis, while duty-free sales plunged 88.7 percent to 3.17 billion yen, as Japan maintained travel restrictions.
By product, sales of clothing fell 26.6 percent as people worked from home more and went out less frequently.
Food purchases dropped 11.5 percent, though demand for fresh food items and alcoholic beverages was relatively firm as customers ate and drank at home, the association said.
