Retail sales in japan decreased 1.9 percent year-on-year in August of 2020, following an upwardly revised 2.9 percent fall in the previous month and below market expectations of a 3.5 percent drop. It was the sixth consecutive month of falls in retail activity, amid the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 crisis that hit demand. Sales fell at a softer pace for general merchandise (-12.2 percent vs -12.3 percent in July); fabrics apparel & accessories (-17.4 percent vs -19.1 percent); motor vehicles (-14.1 percent vs -15.8 percent) and fuel (-7.1 percent vs -12.4 percent). Meantime, sales continued to rise for food & beverages (2.7 percent vs 1.4 percent); machinery & equipment (3.8 percent vs 8.1 percent) and medicine & toiletry stores (1.6 percent vs 1.2 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 4.6 percent, recovering from a 3.4 percent fall in July. source: Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI)

Retail Sales YoY in Japan averaged 4.39 percent from 1971 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 36.50 percent in January of 1979 and a record low of -14.30 percent in March of 1998. This page provides the latest reported value for - Japan Retail Sales YoY - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Japan Retail Sales - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2020.

Retail Sales YoY in Japan is expected to be -3.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales YoY in Japan to stand at 3.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Japan Retail Sales is projected to trend around 1.20 percent in 2021 and 1.40 percent in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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Japan Retail Sales

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-1.90 -2.90 36.50 -14.30 1971 - 2020 percent Monthly


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-06-28 11:50 PM May -12.3% -13.9% -11.6% -9.8%
2020-07-29 11:50 PM Jun -1.2% -12.5% -6.5% -4%
2020-08-30 11:50 PM Jul -2.8% 3.9% -1.7% -1.5%
2020-09-29 11:50 PM Aug -1.9% -2.9% -3.5% -2%
2020-10-28 11:50 PM Sep -1.9% -7.7% -6%
2020-11-27 11:50 PM Oct
2020-12-26 11:50 PM Nov
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
Japan Retail Sales Fall Less than Expected
Retail sales in japan decreased 1.9 percent year-on-year in August of 2020, following an upwardly revised 2.9 percent fall in the previous month and below market expectations of a 3.5 percent drop. It was the sixth consecutive month of falls in retail activity, amid the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 crisis that hit demand. Sales fell at a softer pace for general merchandise (-12.2 percent vs -12.3 percent in July); fabrics apparel & accessories (-17.4 percent vs -19.1 percent); motor vehicles (-14.1 percent vs -15.8 percent) and fuel (-7.1 percent vs -12.4 percent). Meantime, sales continued to rise for food & beverages (2.7 percent vs 1.4 percent); machinery & equipment (3.8 percent vs 8.1 percent) and medicine & toiletry stores (1.6 percent vs 1.2 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 4.6 percent, recovering from a 3.4 percent fall in July.
2020-09-30
Japan Retail Sales Drop at Softer Pace
Japan's retail trade declined by 1.2 percent year-on-year in June 2020, after a revised 12.5 percent slump a month earlier and compared with market consensus of a 6.5 percent fall. This was the fourth straight month of a drop in retail trade, amid the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 crisis that hit demand. Sales continued to fall for general merchandise (-11.2 percent vs -35.2 percent in May), fabrics apparel & accessories (-6.7 percent vs -34.6 percent), motor vehicles (-17.2 percent vs -35.1 percent), and fuel (-14.6 percent vs -28.4 percent). In contrast, sales rebounded for machinery & equipment (15.9 percent vs -6.2 percent). Meanwhile, sales of food & beverages increased 3.0 percent after rising 1.9 percent. On a monthly basis, retail sales jumped 13.1 percent in Jun, the most on record.
2020-07-30
Japan Retail Sales Fall for 3rd Month
Japan's retail trade declined by 12.3 percent year-on-year in May 2020, after a revised 13.9 percent slump a month earlier and compared with market consensus of an 11.6 percent fall. This was the third straight month of a drop in retail trade, amid the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 crisis that hit demand. Sales continued to fall for general merchandise (-34.9 percent vs -42.9 percent in April), fabrics apparel & accessories (-34.3 percent vs -54.1 percent), motor vehicles (-35.2 percent vs -23.7 percent), machinery & equipment (-5.8 percent vs -13.5 percent), fuel (-28.6 percent vs -22.1 percent), and others (-4.2 percent vs -9.1 percent). Also, sales of medicine & toiletry fell 3.1 percent, following a 3 percent gain in April. In contrast, sales of food & beverages grew further (2.2 percent vs 0.3 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales rose by 2.1 percent in May, the first increase in three months, after a revised 9.9 percent tumble in April.
2020-06-29
Japan Retail Sales Sink 13.7% YoY
Japan's retail trade tumbled 13.7 percent from a year earlier in April 2020 after a 4.7 decline in the prior month, falling for the sixth time in seven months. Sales were mainly dragged by general merchandise (-42.9 percent vs -20.9 percent in March), fabrics (-53.6 percent vs -22.7 percent), and machinery equipment (-12.9 percent vs -7.1 percent). In contrast, medicine & toiletry sales rose 3 percent (vs 1.6 percent). On a monthly basis, sales declined 9.6 percent after declining 4.6 percent in March.
2020-05-29

Japan Retail Sales
In Japan, the year-over-year change in Retail sales compares the aggregated sales of retail goods and services during a certain month to the same month a year ago.