Supermarket sales in November fell 8 percent from a year earlier on a same-store basis for the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year decline, an industry body said Tuesday.
Sales for the reporting month totaled ¥1.03 trillion at 8,185 outlets operated by 68 companies, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association.
Food sales dropped 6 percent, clothing sales dived 14.4 percent and those of household products slid 9.2 percent.
The downward trend seems to be in line with the government announcement in November that the economy slipped into deflation, reflecting lower salaries and consumer prices, industry analysts said.