The decline in sales of duty-free goods in this department store may be attributed to Chinese buyers

In April, sales of duty-free goods in department stores across the country decreased by 9.3% compared with the same period last year, the first year-on-year decline in the past three years and three months. This may be due to the impact of China’s increased tariffs on goods purchased overseas and the recent appreciation of the yen, which has led to a cooling off of Chinese tourists’ “buying spree”. Sales of high-priced items such as jewelry and watches are particularly sluggish.
The number of foreign tourists shopping in department stores increased by 7.8% year-on-year, maintaining a good trend, but per capita consumption dropped significantly by 15.9% year-on-year. Tetsuya Kinuchi, executive director of the Japan Department Store Association, said that “per capita consumption has decreased and may still be lower than the same period last year in the future,” and believes that the peak of “explosion buying” demand may have passed.
Looking at different regions, 10 major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka plus other regions, a total of 18 regions, all showed negative growth. This is the first time since last March that all sales fell due to the base effect before the consumption tax increase. Affected by the Kumamoto earthquake, sales in Fukuoka fell by 5.2% and in other regions of Kyushu by 12.9%.
Looking at different commodities, clothing fell by 6.3%, and daily necessities such as shoes and bags fell by 6.0%. Art and jewelry also fell 7.1%.
The association also announced that national department store sales, including duty-free goods (based on the original stores), fell by 3.8%, showing negative growth for two consecutive months. The appreciation of the yen and the decline of the stock market have dampened consumers’ desire to shop.