It was announced today that retail sales were DOWN 11.7% for the past month. This continues a string of 17 straight months of reduced retail sales figures.
This is not surprising and the big downturn this month can, I believe be clearly laid at the feet of this years reduced bonus situation. Normally the Summer bonus is used by families to pay for the Obon Holiday travel and for various summer purchases such as clothing and entertainment.
Prices are down across the board as belt tightening continues across the country.
I recently returned from a shopping excursion to a local electronics shop where we got almost zero help despite spending a boatload of cash. Stock levels appeared fine, but the staff levels, or at least staff who were interested in selling something were non-existent. We waited over 30 minutes for a salesperson to input our order into the "system". Very inefficient and no information was given about "eco-points" which is a very hot topic around these parts.
more later
About Me
- donpaulo
- Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan
- I am an expat American Living in Central Japan in the city of Shizuoka. Both the prefecture and the city share the same name. Shizuoka is well known internationally for being the home of Mount Fuji, but here in Japan it is famous for high quality green tea and for being the best place for trial marketing of new products.
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