Japan's Supermarket Sales Rise for 11 Consecutive Months

In Japan, the sales of supermarkets, which typically operate 24/7 and widely across the country, recorded an annual increase for the 11th consecutive month. According to data released by the Japan Franchise Association (JFA), comparable supermarket sales (excluding tax) in October rose by 1.7% year-on-year to 970.2 billion yen, compared to 954.1 billion yen in the same month last year. The total supermarket sales reached 1 trillion 9.3 billion yen, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 1.9%. The number of supermarkets fell by 0.1% annually to 55,695. The number of visitors to supermarkets increased by 0.8% to 1,361,542 people.