It should be noted, however, that the scale of the temporary decline in consumption was considerable. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, sales at retail stores for the January–March quarter of 2014 increased by 3.9 percent, but declined by 7.0 percent for the April–June quarter.
Moreover, according to the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, real consumption expenditures for the January–March quarter increased by 4.6 percent, but declined by 9.4 percent for the April–June quarter. Let us now examine developments in income in relation to those in consumption.