Department stores in Tokyo's 23 wards logged sales of 932.49 billion yen in the January-June period, down 3.4 percent from a year earlier.
The Japan Department Stores Association said Wednesday that sales of clothing, the largest commodity sector, fell 4.4 percent to 362.84 billion yen and sales of food, the second-largest, slipped 0.9 percent to 186.21 billion yen.
Sundry goods, including cosmetics and stationery, fell 2.6 percent to 148.85 billion yen, while sales of personal goods, including shoes and bags, fell 0.4 percent to 119.80 billion yen.
Sales of household goods plunged 13.1 percent to 61.49 billion yen, including an 18.2 percent plunge in furniture to 23.91 billion yen.
In June alone, department store sales slid 6.1 percent from a year earlier to 156.47 billion yen, marking the fourth straight monthly decline and the biggest percentage fall since last November, when sales dropped by 7.2 percent.
The association attributed the fall to changes in the dates of clearance sales, fewer Sundays in the reporting month and sluggish demand from corporate customers.