As per recent data from the Japan Department Stores Association (JDSA), apparel retail sales in Japan dropped by 40 per cent during the first half of 2020 compared to the same time in 2019. The decline was noted both in the first quarter spanning January-March 2020 as well as in the April-June quarter of the COVID-19 struck. A monthly surge can be seen from mid-May onwards, as the state of emergency has been lifted in stages across the country since May 14, 2020 before being finally ended on May 25 , 2020.

As a consequence, growth was unprecedented in June ’20 over May ’20, which shows a large number of shoppers have come out buying post-pandemic apparels. The yearly decline among the majority of fashion shoppers shows lingering fears of infections in the region. Monthly rise of 217 percent in June ’20 over May’ 20 was huge, which is a strong sign that the post-outbreak rebounding of the apparel industry has begun. In the quarter affected by COVID-19 from April-June ’20, sales of Japanese apparel declined 66.81 per cent to $1.27 billion. Sales declined 22.30 per cent from the same time in 2019 in January-March ’20 quarter to $3.28 billion.