Japan Retail Sales YoY

Retail sales in Japan increased by 0.5% year-on-year in September 2024, well below market expectations of 2.3% and significantly softer than the upwardly revised 3.1% growth in the previous month. This marked the 30th consecutive month of retail turnover growth but at the slowest pace since February 2022. Sales rose in categories such as machinery & equipment (0.4%), food and beverages (0.4%), non-store retailers (2.9%), miscellaneous items (3.1%), and textiles, clothing, and personal goods (10.7%). In contrast, sales declined in fuel (-1.5%), pharmaceuticals & cosmetics (-0.8%), miscellaneous goods - including department stores, etc (-0.2%), and automobiles (-3.5%). On a monthly basis, retail sales fell by 2.3%, marking the first monthly decline in six months and the steepest contraction since August 2021. This reversed an upwardly revised 1.0% rise in August, which had been the fastest growth in three months.