Households of two or more people spent 289,536 yen in September, down 6.8% in real terms from a year earlier — the largest decline since a 10.2% fall in September 2020, the internal affairs ministry said.
The ministry's statistics bureau attributed the drop to bad weather, including long spells of rain, which kept people from going out and shopping and cut demand for summer goods. Spending fell in nine of ten categories.
It was the tenth straight month of real year-on-year decline. Nominal spending, the actual amount paid out, also fell 4.5% from September last year.
The last comparable drop, in September 2020, came during the coronavirus pandemic. It also reflected a backlash after households rushed to buy before the October 2019 consumption tax rise.
Food and utilities lead the fall
Food fell 2.5% in real terms, with rice and beverages down sharply. Prices for drinks and prepared foods have also risen fast, keeping real spending on them falling.
Housing-related utilities fell 10.5%. Electricity bills, for power used in August and paid in September, dropped 11.9%, which the ministry linked to lower temperatures that month.
Clothing and footwear fell 3.6%. Furniture and household goods dropped 6.4%, pulled down by durable goods such as air conditioners. Spending on plastic bags and cling film, whose prices have risen, also declined.