Retail sales increased in October by 2.5% after rising 0.3% in September. The increase marked the second consecutive month, and points to some improvement of the trend in recent years. However, on an annualized basis, this indicator continues to decrease for the eighth month in a row. According to published data, retail sales decreased by -0.1% compared to the same period of the previous year. Sales of Japan's major stores also fell by -1.0% compared with the same period last year.

The report of the Ministry of Economy and Trade says that consumers were cautious in their spending in the conditions of slow growth in wages, although the decline was less significant than in previous months.