Convenience store sales fall 1.7 percent in January.

Kyodo News International, Tokyo Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 21--TOKYO -- Sales at convenience stores in Japan shrank 1.7 percent in January from a year earlier on a same-store basis to 513.36 billion yen, for the sixth consecutive month of fall, the Japan Franchise Association said Monday.

The number of customers visiting convenience stores dipped 0.6 percent to 838.52 million, marking the first decrease in three months, the association said, adding that spending was an average 595 yen per visitor, down 0.8 percent and the third straight month of decline.

The association blamed the shrinkage in the shoppers' number to cold …