Supermarket sales fell 1.0 percent in September from a year earlier on a same-store basis, declining for the sixth consecutive month following the April consumption tax hike, an industry body said Tuesday.
Sales at 9,262 stores operated by 60 supermarket chains totaled ¥1.016 trillion, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association.
Food sales, accounting for 65.6 percent of the total, dropped 0.8 percent, it said.
Meanwhile, clothing sales shrank 2.6 percent and sales of electronics, interior items, medicine, cosmetics and other miscellaneous products declined 1.0 percent due to lower than average temperatures.