Japan - Einzelhandelsumsätze (jährlich)

Japan's retail sales plummeted 7.1 percent year-on-year in October 2019 following a 9.2 percent surge in the previous month and compared to market expectations of a 4.4 percent drop, as the new sales tax hit October sales hard. It was the biggest decline in retail trade since March 2015, mainly dragged by machinery & equipment (-15.0 percent from 37.8 percent), general merchandise (-13.2 percent from 14.0 percent), motor vehicles (-17.0 percent from 16.9 percent) and fuel (-13.0 percent from -0.1 percent). Sales also declined sharply for fabrics, apparel & accessories (-5.7 percent vs 2.0 percent), non store retailers (-4.1 percent vs 15.6 percent), and food & beverages (-2.2 percent vs 1.2 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales plunged 14.4 percent in October after an upwardly revised 7.2 percent rise, falling by the steepest rate ever.

Japan's retail sales jumped 9.1 percent year-on-year in September 2019, following a 1.8 percent rise in the previous month and easily beating market expectations of 6.9 percent gain. It was the biggest increase in retail trade since March of 2014, mainly boosted by general merchandise (13.9 percent from 0.2 percent in August). Also, sales went up further for motor vehicles (16.9 percent from 2.2 percent); machinery & equipment (37.9 percent from 12.1 percent); medicine & toiletry stores (16.4 percent from 6 percent); and food & beverages (1.1 percent from 0.7 percent). Additionally, sales of fuel dropped less (-0.4 percent vs -3.6 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales jumped 7.1 percent in September after a downwardly revised 4.6 percent rise.

Japan's retail trade contracted 2.0 percent year-on-year in July 2019, following a 0.5 percent climb in the previous month and compared to market expectations of a 0.8 percent drop. Sales fell further for general merchandise (-5.8 percent vs -2.5 percent), fuel (-6.0 percent vs -3.6 percent), and others (-5.4 percent vs -0.2 percent). Also, sales of fabrics, apparel & accessories declined by 5.3 percent (vs 4.2 percent in June) and of machinery & equipment by 8.1 percent (vs 5.5 percent in June). In contrast, motor vehicle sales rose 2.9 percent (vs -1.2 percent in June). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 2.3 percent in July after remaining unchanged in June.

Japan's retail trade increased by 0.5 percent year-on-year in June 2019, easing from an upwardly revised 1.3 percent gain in the previous month and compared to market expectations of a 0.2 percent advance. Sales rose at a softer pace for both machinery & equipment (5.6 percent vs 5.9 percent in May) and medicine & toiletries (2 percent vs 4.7 percent). In addition, sales declined for general merchandise (-2.6 percent vs -2.2 percent), motor vehicles (-0.9 percent vs 2.2 percent), fuel (-3.9 percent vs 0.3 percent), and others (-0.5 percent vs -1.1 percent). In contrast, sales growth accelerated for fabrics apparel & accessories (4.2 percent vs 4 percent) and food & beverages (1.5 percent vs 1.3 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales were flat in June, following an upwardly revised 0.4 percent rise in May.

Japan's retail trade increased 1.2 percent from a year earlier in May 2019, the most since December, following a downwardly revised 0.4 percent climb in the previous month and matching market expectations. The increase was mainly explained by a 2.0 percent rebound for motor vehicle sales, after falling 1.7 percent in the previous month. Also, sales of fabrics apparel & accessories rebounded 4.1 percent after a 0.5 percent drop. In addition, machinery & equipment sales grew 5.6 percent after expanding 2.1 percent. In contrast, general merchandise sales shrank 2.0 percent (versus -3.4 percent in April). On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.3 percent in May.

Japan's retail trade increased 0.5 percent from a year earlier in April 2019, following a 1.0 percent climb in the previous month and below market expectations of 0.8 percent. It was the slowest growth since October of 2017. Sales were mainly nudged by further growth in sales of fuel (3.4 percent vs 1.4 percent in March) and medicine & toiletry (5.8 percent vs 0.8 percent). In contrast, sales declined for general merchandise (-3.4 percent vs -0.9 percent) motor vehicles (-1.4 percent vs +2.5 percent), and fabrics apparel & accessories (-0.2 percent vs +0.9 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales remained unchanged after climbing 0.2 percent in March.