Data released by the Japan Department Store Association on November 19 showed that department store sales across Japan in October reached 497.4 billion yen (including all stores). The number of existing stores increased by 4.2% year-on-year, which was higher than the previous year for seven consecutive months. In addition to the good weather, October coincided with China’s National Day holiday at the beginning of the month, and the increase in demand from foreign tourists visiting Japan also pushed up sales.
Sales of all five major categories in department stores were higher than the previous year. Five categories achieved simultaneous growth again after 5 months. Clothing, the main category, grew by 1.5%. Autumn and winter clothing sales grew strongly as temperatures dropped in the first half of the month. Daily necessities, including cosmetics and jewelry, which are in huge demand from tourists visiting Japan, increased by 15.5%, with the most obvious growth among the five categories. Cosmetics increased by 22.5%, and art, jewelry and precious metals increased by 16.2%, maintaining a relatively high growth rate. Food increased by 1.6%.
Sales of duty-free products for tourists visiting Japan increased by 96.0% year-on-year, reaching 17.2 billion yen. Judging from the countries and regions of origin of tourists at the duty-free procedure counter, the first place is mainland China, the second place is Hong Kong, and the third to fourth places are Taiwan and South Korea.
In October, department store sales in the Tokyo area reached 132.3 billion yen. Existing stores grew by 7.4%, higher than the previous year for seven consecutive months. All five major categories achieved growth, with clothing growing by 4.5% and daily necessities growing by 21.0%. Clothing sales in Japanese department stores increased by 4.5% in October
