Department store sales shrank 6.4 percent in November from the year before on a same-store basis amid the deepening economic crisis, extending their downtrend for the ninth straight month, an industry body said Thursday.
Total sales came to ¥649.13 billion, the Japan Department Stores Association said.
"A range of factors that poured cold water on consumer spending, such as falling stock prices and jitters over job security amid flagging corporate earnings, converged to keep in place the trend of falling sales in many merchandise sectors, particularly big-ticket items," the association said.
In Tokyo alone, November department store sales dropped 7.2 percent from the year before, the ninth consecutive month of decline.
Overall clothing sales, the chief revenue-earning merchandise sector in the emporium industry, fell 9.1 percent.
Sales of miscellaneous merchandise, including cosmetics, artwork, jewelry, dropped 9.5 percent.