The value of retail sales in Japan was up 2.6 percent on year in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said on Friday - coming in at 14.309 trillion yen.
That missed forecasts for an increase of 2.8 percent and was down from 3.8 percent in June.
Commercial Sales added 2.5 percent on month and 7.5 percent on year to 53.440 trillion yen.
Wholesale sales rose 3.1 percent on month and 9.9 percent on year to 39.131 trillion yen.