Japan supermarket sales rebound, department stores rebound

TOKYO, Nov 25 Reuters -- Sales at Japan's supermarket and department stores rose in October because the end to coronaviruses curbs lifted consumption, industry data showed on Thursday, but the modest rebound suggested a full recovery will take time.

According to the Japan Department Stores Association, sales at Japanese department stores increased by 2.9% in October from a year ago.

In October, the data from the Japan Chain Stores Association showed that the stores that include supermarkets such as Aeon and furniture stores, such as Nitori Holdings, grew by 3.7% from a year earlier.

The data points to a pick-up in spending, but it casts doubt on how quickly the world's third largest economy can bounce back from the pandemic doldrums in the fourth quarter, after state of emergency curbs were lifted on Sept. 30.

Services will take time to recover in sectors hardest hit by the Pandemic, according to analysts.

Yutaro Suzuki, economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research, said that consumption is coming back, but not as a V-shape recovery from the lows of the state of emergency. The pace of recovery is gradual. A separate survey by the Japan Foodservice Association showed that sales at pubs, fast food and family restaurants fell by 0.5% in October from a year ago.

The restrictions had been lifted further by November, so spending is likely to improve, said Taro Saito, executive research fellow at the NLI Research Institute.

Saito said that consumers were less hesitant to go out after Japan saw a decline in COVID 19 cases.

Japan's government raised its view on consumption for the first time in 13 months earlier in the day after it raised its views on service spending.