That said, it is not only the manufacturing industry that has seen an improving trend in business conditions. Among domestic demand-oriented firms in the nonmanufacturing industry, business conditions of retailers, which provide goods, have been generally firm despite temporary store closures and other restrictions, supported by stay-at-home consumption by households that have lost opportunities for going out due to the spread of COVID-19.
Some retailers have discovered the business opportunity of expanding online sales channels and started to make active investment in e-commerce, which is one of the factors underpinning business fixed investment in Japan.