Department store sales in Japan in May surged 57.8% from a year before on a same-store basis thanks to growing customer traffic as COVID-19 infections have settled down. Customer traffic grew sharply especially during the country’s Golden Week holiday period between late April and early May.

Overall sales at 189 stores run by 72 companies across the country stood at ¥388.2bn. Same-store sales marked their third straight month of growth. Sales of high-priced goods including imported luxury brand items and watches were strong. Summer items such as one-piece dresses and parasols also sold well as temperatures rose. Compared with May 2019, before the pandemic, same-store sales were down 10.5%. Still, the pace of decline has been slowing. Major department stores have seen sales growth of over 20% so far in June, the association said.