On October 24, the Ministry of Commerce released insights on the state of China’s consumer market for September 2024. During an interview, a representative from the Ministry’s Consumer Promotion Division noted that the effectiveness of the old-for-new policy in consumer goods is increasingly evident, leading to signs of market recovery. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.11 trillion yuan in September, marking a 3.2% year-on-year increase, which is an acceleration of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous month. For the first three quarters of the year, retail sales totaled 35.36 trillion yuan, also reflecting a 3.3% increase year-on-year.
The representative highlighted several key points:
First, the benefits of the old-for-new policy are becoming clear. National Bureau of Statistics data shows that in September, retail sales of goods amounted to 3.67 trillion yuan, representing a 3.3% year-on-year growth, with an acceleration of 1.4 percentage points month-on-month. Specifically, the retail sales of home appliances from designated large retailers soared by 20.5% year-on-year, an increase of 17.1 percentage points compared to the previous month. Both automobile and furniture retail sales saw a slight recovery, each up 0.4% year-on-year.
Second, there has been rapid growth in service consumption. The data indicates that in the first three quarters, service retail sales grew by 6.7% year-on-year, outpacing goods retail sales by 3.7 percentage points. Restaurant revenues reached 3.94 trillion yuan, growing 6.2% year-on-year. Additionally, average consumer spending on education, cultural, and entertainment activities, as well as transportation and communication, increased by 10.1% and 10.0%, respectively.
Third, there is a synergistic development between online and offline sales. In the first three quarters, online consumption grew significantly, with online retail sales of physical goods increasing by 7.9% year-on-year, accounting for 25.7% of the total retail sales. Meanwhile, physical retail maintained steady growth, with convenience stores, specialty shops, and supermarkets reporting year-on-year sales increases of 4.7%, 4.0%, and 2.4%, respectively.
Lastly, rural consumption is growing faster than urban consumption. In September, retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas reached 606.8 billion yuan, reflecting a 3.9% year-on-year growth rate that outpaced urban areas by 0.8 percentage points. For the first three quarters, rural retail sales totaled 4.77 trillion yuan, with a 4.4% year-on-year increase, exceeding urban growth by 1.2 percentage points. Additionally, rural households reported a 6.5% increase in per capita consumption expenditure, surpassing urban growth by 1.5 percentage points.
