The total value of retail sales in Japan was down 0.8 percent on year in February, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Wednesday - coming in at 11.537 trillion yen.
That missed expectations for a loss of 0.3 percent following the downwardly revised 1.1 percent increase in January (originally 1.6 percent).
On a monthly basis, retail sales were again down 0.8 percent after slipping 0.9 percent in the previous month.
Commercial sales were down 0.2 percent on month and up 6.2 percent on year to 44.732 trillion yen, while wholesale sales dropped 1.5 percent on month and gained 8.8 percent on year to 33.196 trillion yen.
