China's consumer market is poised for steady growth this year, bolstered by a series of consumption promotion policies and measures, according to a senior official from the Ministry of Commerce.
During a press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday, Li Gang, director of the ministry's Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion, highlighted the robust performance of the consumption market in the first two months of the year.
"From January to February, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8.37 trillion yuan (about 1.15 trillion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 4 percent, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.5 percentage points compared to the entire previous year and by 0.3 percentage points compared to December last year. Among them, the retail sales of goods increased by 3.9 percent year on year, accelerating by 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous year," said Li.
Among the 16 categories of goods above the designated size, 14 experienced positive growth in retail sales, and 11 categories saw their year-on-year growth rates shift from negative to positive or accelerate. Restaurant income also rose by 4.3 percent year on year, with growth accelerating by 1.6 percentage points compared to December, Li noted.
Bricks-and-mortar retailers are accelerating their digital transformation, innovating and enriching consumer scenarios, and continuously enhancing the consumer experience, said Li, noting that in the first two months of the year, among enterprises above designated size, the retail sales of members-only warehouse stores maintained double-digit growth, with convenience stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets seeing year-on-year retail sales increases of 9.8 percent, 5.4 percent, and 4 percent, respectively.
"Service consumption continues to expand, with new types of consumption such as digital, green, and intelligent rapidly developing, providing strong support for the sustained recovery and improvement of the consumption market. In January-February period, the national service retail sales increased by 4.9 percent year on year, with the growth rate 1 percentage point faster than that of goods retail sales. Online retail sales increased by 7.3 percent year on year, with physical goods online retail sales growing by 5 percent," he said. According to data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, the retail volume of new energy passenger vehicles surged by 35.5 percent year on year in the first two months, achieving a retail penetration rate of about 45 percent. Additionally, retail sales for sports and entertainment products and communication equipment among designated large enterprises rose by 25 percent and 26.2 percent, respectively, said Li.
"China's consumer market remains resilient while boasting great potentials and vibrancy, and the underlying trend of recovery and improvement remains steadfast. With the continuous implementation of various promotional measures and the orderly execution of the 'Buy in China' series of activities, the consumer market is expected to sustain its steady development momentum this year," said the director.
China's consumer market to maintain steady growth this year: official
