On March 30, the Information Office of the State Council held a press conference, where relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the operation of the domestic consumer market since the beginning of this year. Data show that the consumer market made a solid start, moving towards new and high-quality development, with new consumption and experience consumption showing strong vitality, providing solid support for economic growth and becoming an important bright spot in the domestic financial market today.
The consumer market as a whole showed a “stable and upward” trend. Data show that the total retail sales of consumer goods from January to February increased by 2.8% year-on-year, 1.9 percentage points faster than that in December last year, with a steady recovery in growth rate. Among the 16 major categories of commodities of designated-size units, 9 categories achieved a growth rate of more than 5%. Among them, the retail sales of clothing, shoes and hats, and grain, oil and food increased by 10.4% and 10.2% respectively. Basic living consumption maintained strong resilience, becoming the “ballast stone” of the consumer market.
New consumption has become the core driving force for growth. Driven by the trade-in policy, sales of green and intelligent products grew rapidly. According to commercial big data, sales of smart glasses on key platforms increased by 180% year-on-year from January to February. At the same time, the “technology + consumption” model was widely popular. During the Spring Festival holiday, more than 130 million people in China shopped through AI. New products such as smart air conditioners, housekeeping robots, and AI rings continued to lead consumption upgrading and promote industrial iteration and development.
In addition, experience consumption and inbound consumption heated up simultaneously. From January to February, retail sales of services increased by 5.6%, among which experiential consumption such as tourism consulting and rental, and cultural and sports leisure achieved double-digit growth. Live performances and intangible cultural heritage handcrafts became new consumption trends; during the Spring Festival holiday, 1.313 million foreigners entered and exited China, with a daily average growth of 21.8%. The sales volume of tax-free shopping for departure in Shanghai and Sichuan increased by 150% and 320% year-on-year respectively, and the potential of inbound consumption was continuously released.
