Sales at supermarket in October edged down 0.9 percent from a year earlier on a same-store basis, declining for the third consecutive month due to sluggish food sales, an industry body said Tuesday.

Sales at 8,042 stores run by 60 retailers totaled ¥1.04 trillion, the Japan Chain Stores Association said.

By category, food sales, which accounted for 61.8 percent of the total, fell 2.2 percent to ¥645.17 billion due partly to slow sales of seasonal items such as hot pot ingredients amid relatively warm temperatures in the latter half of October.

Sales of clothing increased 1.2 percent to ¥118.12 billion, while sales of household products rose 0.8 percent to ¥211.38 billion.