September department store sales decreased by 33.6% year-on-year The rate of decrease expanded from August 17:03 on October 22

Last month's sales at department stores across the country fell by more than 33% compared to the same month last year.

In addition to the impact of the new coronavirus, the rate of decline has increased since August due to the reaction to the last year's last-minute demand ahead of the consumption tax hike.

According to the Japan Department Stores Association, last month's sales of 196 department stores nationwide were over 334 billion yen, a decrease of 33.6% compared to the same month last year when comparing stores that were open a year ago.



In addition to the impact of the new coronavirus, the rate of decline widened from the previous month, partly due to the reaction to the large increase in sales due to the last-minute demand ahead of the consumption tax hike in September last year.



Compared to September, when there were no special factors, the decrease was 18.7%.



On the other hand, sales of 40 major department stores nationwide from the 1st to the 15th of this month were small, about 1% negative, as sales fell due to the effect of refraining from buying due to the increase in the consumption tax rate last October. It is only decreasing.



At department stores nationwide, there is a growing movement to resume events such as product exhibitions after taking measures against infection, and the Japan Department Store Association says that the number of customers entering the store has been on a recovery trend recently.