TOKYO: Department store sales in Japan in 2021 rose moderately from the previous year to some 4.4 trillion yen but stayed below the 2019 level, or before the novel coronavirus pandemic, Jiji Press learned Saturday.

Last year’s sales went up by about 200 billion yen from 4,220.4 billion yen marked in 2020, when department stores were forced to close for a long time amid the viral spread, according to informed sources.

But the 2021 figure was still about 20 percent lower than 5,754.7 billion yen recorded in 2019, before the virus started spreading in Japan.

Official sales data are set to be released by the Japan Department Stores Association on Tuesday.

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to force department store operators to take measures against the virus, such as closing stores temporarily and restricting the number of customers.

Amid declining customer traffic, robust sales of luxury items, including wristwatches, jewelry and high-end brand items, supported department stores.

“Wealthy people who could not go on trips (due to the pandemic) bought more of luxury items instead,” an official at a major department store said.

Customer traffic started recovering after the Japanese government lifted its coronavirus state of emergency at the end of September last year.

All major department store operators fared well in the year-end and New Year shopping season.

The number of customers has started falling again, however, amid the spread of the omicron coronavirus variant, which is casting a pall over sales in 2022.

Due to the rise of specialty stores, including casual clothing chain Uniqlo of Fast Retailing Co., as well as the spread of online shopping, department store sales in Japan have been falling since peaking at 9,713 billion yen in 1991.

Last year’s sales of 4.4 trillion yen were close to the level marked in 1976, after the end of Japan’s high economic growth.

JIJI Press