Retail sales in Japan declined by 2.4 percent year-on-year in January 2021, following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent drop and compared to market estimates of a 2.6 percent decrease. The sharpest declines were observed in general merchandise (-17.4 percent vs. -9.5 percent); fabrics, apparel & accessories (-17.8 percent vs. -4.5 percent); fuel (-9.5 percent vs. -8.4 percent), and medicine & toiletry (-1.3 percent vs 1.3 percent). On the flip side, machinery & equipment sales increased 12.8 percent (vs. 15.9 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.5 percent in January, after a 0.7 percent drop in December. source: Ministry of Economy Trade & Industry (METI)

Retail Sales YoY in Japan averaged 4.32 percent from 1971 until 2021, reaching an all time high of 36.50 percent in January of 1979 and a record low of -14.30 percent in March of 1998. This page provides the latest reported value for - Japan Retail Sales YoY - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Japan Retail Sales - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on March of 2021.

Retail Sales YoY in Japan is expected to be 1.00 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales YoY in Japan to stand at 1.20 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Japan Retail Sales is projected to trend around 1.40 percent in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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Japan Retail Sales

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-2.40 -0.20 36.50 -14.30 1971 - 2021 percent Monthly


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-11-29 11:50 PM Oct 6.4% -8.7% -8.5%
2020-12-24 11:50 PM Nov 0.7% 6.4% 1.7% 2%
2021-01-27 11:50 PM Dec -0.3% 0.6% -0.4% -0.5%
2021-02-25 11:50 PM Jan -2.4% -0.2% -2.6% -2.5%
2021-03-29 11:50 PM Feb -2.4%
2021-04-29 11:50 PM Mar
2021-05-28 11:50 PM Apr
2021-06-28 11:50 PM May
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
Japan Retail Sales Fall Further
Retail sales in Japan declined by 2.4 percent year-on-year in January 2021, following an upwardly revised 0.2 percent drop and compared to market estimates of a 2.6 percent decrease. The sharpest declines were observed in general merchandise (-17.4 percent vs. -9.5 percent); fabrics, apparel & accessories (-17.8 percent vs. -4.5 percent); fuel (-9.5 percent vs. -8.4 percent), and medicine & toiletry (-1.3 percent vs 1.3 percent). On the flip side, machinery & equipment sales increased 12.8 percent (vs. 15.9 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.5 percent in January, after a 0.7 percent drop in December.
2021-02-25
Japan Retail Sales Slump in December
Retail sales in Japan declined by 0.3 percent year-on-year in December 2020, following a 0.6 percent and compared to market estimates of a 0.6 percent increase. The largest declines were seen in general merchandise (-9.5 percent vs. -10.1 percent), fuel (-8.4 percent vs -10.2 percent), and fabrics & apparel (-4.4 percent vs -7.7 percent). In contrast, main positive contributors were: machinery & equipment (16.4 percent vs. 26.2 percent), motor vehicles (3.9 percent vs 3.0 percent) and medicine & toiletry stores (1.7 percent vs. -0.8 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.8 percent in December, after a 2.1 percent drop in November.
2021-01-28
Japan Retail Sales Grow for 2nd Month
Retail sales in Japan rose by 0.7 percent year-on-year in November 2020, slowing from a 6.4 percent gain a month earlier and missing market estimates of a 1.7 percent increase, as consumption eased following a resurgence in local COVID-19 infections. Sales grew at a softer rate for food & beverages (0.2 percent vs 3.6 percent in October), motor vehicles (3.4 percent vs 16.7 percent), machinery & equipment (26.2 percent vs 27.3 percent), and others (6.3 percent vs 10.2 percent). At the same time, sales fell much faster for general merchandise (-10 percent vs -0.4 percent), fabrics apparel & accessories (-7.3 percent vs -4 percent), fuel (-10.3 percent vs -0.6 percent). Also, sales of medicine & toiletry dropped by 0.7 percent, after gaining 3.1 percent in October. On a monthly basis, retail sales declined by 2 percent in November, after a 0.5 percent rise in October.
2020-12-25
Japan Retail Sales Rise for First Time in 8 Months
Retail sales in Japan rose by 6.4 percent year-on-year in October, the first month of increase since February, due to a recovery in demand amid easing COVID-19 restrictions. Sales rebounded for motor vehicles (16.4 percent vs -16 percent in September), machinery & equipment (27.4 percent vs -24.3 percent), medicine & toiletry stores (3 percent vs -6.9 percent), and others (10.2 percent vs -6.5 percent). At the same time, sales dropped at softer pace for general merchandise (-0.4 percent vs -24.4 percent), fabrics apparel & accessories (-3.9 percent vs -24.1 percent), and fuel (-0.6 percent vs -8.1 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.4 percent in October, after a 0.1 percent fall in September.
2020-11-30

Japan Retail Sales
In Japan, the year-over-year change in Retail sales compares the aggregated sales of retail goods and services during a certain month to the same month a year ago.