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Supermarket sales in Japan grew at their fastest pace in 30 years in fiscal 2021 as food and home-related goods sold well due to strong stay-at-home demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Thursday.
Same-store sales rose 3.1% in the year ended last month from the previous year, growing for the second consecutive year and marking their sharpest growth since fiscal 1991, when a 4.3% increase was marked, the Japan Chain Stores Association said.
Overall sales at surveyed stores across the country came to ¥13.3 trillion in fiscal 2021.
Food sales, accounting for nearly 70% of the total, gained 2.0%. In particular, sales of prepared meals jumped 9.5%. People continued to refrain from dining out and eat at home due to the pandemic.
Clothing sales dropped 0.1%, as demand remained sluggish for suits and other business-related items due to the spread of working from home.
Sales of home-related items grew 4.3%.
In March alone, overall supermarket sales stood at ¥1.1 trillion yen. On a same-store basis, sales increased 1.9% from a year earlier, the seventh consecutive month of increase.
The monthly growth was partly because of price increases, a senior association official said.
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