China's Ministry of Commerce has reported a significant boost in digital product sales following the implementation of a new purchase subsidy program involving mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches on January 15.
The initiative has sparked widespread consumer interest, with millions taking advantage of the financial incentives. By March 18, more than 42 million consumers had applied for subsidies, covering over 52 million digital devices, according to the Ministry's verification platform. Mobile phones, in particular, saw a surge in demand, leading to over 22 million completed purchases. Altogether, these transactions generated nearly 67 billion yuan (approximately 9 billion U.S. dollars) in sales, highlighting the program's substantial impact on the market. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, retail sales of telecommunication electronics reached 159 billion yuan in the first two months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 26 percent and 10 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024, the highest among 16 major consumer goods categories.
The subsidy policy, which began rolling out nationwide on January 20, had an immediate impact. Third-party data indicates that national mobile phone sales exceeded 10 million units in the first week of the program, the highest weekly sales since 2020, and a 73.8 percent increase compared to the previous week, marking the highest weekly growth since 2018.
Since the policy's implementation, the average weekly sales volume and value of phones priced under 6,000 yuan have increased by over 13 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
The subsidies are also driving a shift towards mid-to-high-end mobile phones. Data from platform companies show that the market share of phones priced between 2,000 and 4,000 yuan and between 4,000 and 6,000 yuan reached 22.1 percent and 22.3 percent, respectively, representing increases of 8.1 and 6.9 percentage points.
Third-party statistics show that over 500 phone models saw price reductions between December 2024 and the 2025 Spring Festival, with an average price drop of 9 percent. Notably, 26 models originally priced above 6,000 yuan fell below that threshold after the policy's launch. The policy has also fueled consumer interest in AI features, with sales of phones equipped with AI large model capabilities surging by 102 percent in the first week of the program.
Preliminary statistics indicate that over 33,000 businesses with over 70,000 stores and more than 350,000 employees are participating in the digital product subsidy program nationwide. As of now, online and offline sales account for 33 percent and 67 percent of total mobile phone sales, respectively.
China's digital product sales surge following new consumer subsidies
