Retail sales in Japan rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year in March 2021, following a 1.5 percent drop a month earlier and compared with market expectations of a 4.7 percent fall. This was the first growth in retail trade since November 2020 and the steepest pace in five months, as consumption recovered in the wake of COVID-19 disruption. Sales grew for most categories: general merchandise (7.4 percent vs -10 percent in February); fabrics, apparel & accessories (13 percent vs -17.4 percent); motor vehicles (10.5 percent vs 6 percent); machinery & equipment (14.4 percent vs 11.2 percent); fuel (5.5 percent vs -9.7 percent); medicine & toiletry (1.6 percent vs -5.2 percent); and others (5.3 percent vs 4 percent). At the same time, sales of food & beverages fell much softer (-0.2 percent vs -2 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales went up by 1.2 percent in March, after a 3.1 percent rise in February. source: Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI)

Retail Sales YoY in Japan averaged 4.31 percent from 1971 until 2021, 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 May of 2021.

Retail Sales YoY in Japan is expected to be 2.00 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 2.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Japan Retail Sales is projected to trend around 1.40 percent in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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Japan Retail Sales

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
5.20 -1.50 36.50 -14.30 1971 - 2021 percent Monthly


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2021-01-27 11:50 PM Dec -0.3% 0.6% -0.4% -0.5%
2021-02-25 11:50 PM Jan -2.4% -0.2% -2.6% -2.5%
2021-03-29 11:50 PM Feb -1.5% -2.4% -2.8% -2.4%
2021-04-27 11:50 PM Mar 5.2% -1.5% 4.7% 4.5%
2021-05-28 11:50 PM Apr 5.2%
2021-06-28 11:50 PM May
2021-07-29 11:50 PM Jun
2021-08-30 11:50 PM Jul
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
Japan Retail Sales Rebound More than Estimated
Retail sales in Japan rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year in March 2021, following a 1.5 percent drop a month earlier and compared with market expectations of a 4.7 percent fall. This was the first growth in retail trade since November 2020 and the steepest pace in five months, as consumption recovered in the wake of COVID-19 disruption. Sales grew for most categories: general merchandise (7.4 percent vs -10 percent in February); fabrics, apparel & accessories (13 percent vs -17.4 percent); motor vehicles (10.5 percent vs 6 percent); machinery & equipment (14.4 percent vs 11.2 percent); fuel (5.5 percent vs -9.7 percent); medicine & toiletry (1.6 percent vs -5.2 percent); and others (5.3 percent vs 4 percent). At the same time, sales of food & beverages fell much softer (-0.2 percent vs -2 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales went up by 1.2 percent in March, after a 3.1 percent rise in February.
2021-04-28
Japan Retail Sales Fall Less than Estimated
Retail sales in Japan declined by 1.5 percent year-on-year in February 2021, following a 2.4 percent drop a month earlier and compared with market expectations of a 2.8 percent fall. Sales continued to fall for: general merchandise (-10 percent vs -17.4 percent in January); fabrics, apparel & accessories (-17.9 percent vs -17.8 percent); food & beverages (-1.8 percent vs -0.1 percent); fuel (-9.4 percent vs -9.6 percent); and medicine & toiletry (-5.2 percent vs -1.1 percent). On the flip side, sales grew for motor vehicles (6 percent, the same as in January); machinery & equipment (11.2 percent vs 12.5 percent); and others (3.6 percent vs -3.7 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales rose by 3.1 percent in February, the most since June 2020.
2021-03-29
Japan Retail Sales Fall Further
Retail sales in Japan declined by 2.4 percent year-on-year in January 2021, following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent drop and compared to market estimates of a 2.6 percent decrease. The sharpest declines were observed in general merchandise (-17.4 percent vs. -9.5 percent); fabrics, apparel & accessories (-17.8 percent vs. -4.5 percent); fuel (-9.5 percent vs. -8.4 percent), and medicine & toiletry (-1.3 percent vs 1.3 percent). On the flip side, machinery & equipment sales increased 12.8 percent (vs. 15.9 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.5 percent in January, after a 0.7 percent drop in December.
2021-02-25
Japan Retail Sales Slump in December
Retail sales in Japan declined by 0.3 percent year-on-year in December 2020, following a 0.6 percent and compared to market estimates of a 0.6 percent increase. The largest declines were seen in general merchandise (-9.5 percent vs. -10.1 percent), fuel (-8.4 percent vs -10.2 percent), and fabrics & apparel (-4.4 percent vs -7.7 percent). In contrast, main positive contributors were: machinery & equipment (16.4 percent vs. 26.2 percent), motor vehicles (3.9 percent vs 3.0 percent) and medicine & toiletry stores (1.7 percent vs. -0.8 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.8 percent in December, after a 2.1 percent drop in November.
2021-01-28

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.