Department store sales in January declined 0.4 pct from a year earlier to 691.3 bln yen, the first fall in five months, the Japan Department Stores Association said. The figures are based on the combined sales of 96 operators of department stores running a total of 284 stores throughout Japan that were open for at least a year before the survey was conducted. The data were adjusted to facilitate comparisons on a same-store basis. Including sales at stores that were newly opened within the past year, revenue dropped 0.6 pct year-on-year mostly due to heavy snowfall. Earlier, another industry association reported that supermarket sales last month declined 2.5 pct from a year earlier, falling for the 22nd month in the past 23. Next week the government will announce overall retail sales data for January. The government is counting on a sustained pick-up in consumer spending, which accounts for 55 pct of GDP, to boost the economy amid a gradual recovery in exports. Sales at department stores last month fell in six out of nine product categories, the association said. Sales of clothing -- the largest product category, accounting for 46.3 pct of total revenue -- fell 0.4 pct from a year earlier. Sales of food -- the second-largest product category, accounting for 18.6 pct of the total -- dropped 0.3 pct. Sales of furniture and home appliances, which make up 12.7 pct of total revenue, added 1.6 pct. Sales of personal belongings, accounting for 13.0 pct of the total, were up 0.8 pct. Sales of everyday household products, accounting for 4.6 pct of overall revenue, slid 9.4 pct. Sales at store restaurants and cafeterias, which comprise 2.5 pct of the total, fell 2.6 pct. Revenue from services, which account for just 0.8 pct of total sales, was down 0.6 pct, while sales of miscellaneous items, which make up 1.5 pct of total revenue, were up 4.0 pct. Sales of gift tickets, accounting for 2.4 pct, were off 5.1 pct.