China Retail Sales

Data Consumption

Source: National Bureau of Statistics China
Source Link: https://www.stats.gov.cn/
Frequency: Monthly
Next Release(s): March 15th, 2026 10:00 PM

Latest Updates

China’s total retail sales fell -0.12% MoM, the second straight monthly decline, but on an annual basis, sales rose +0.9% YoY(vs +1.2% YoY expected) in December 2025. Consumer demand has seen a sharp slowdown in Q4 2025, causing both discretionary and non-discretionary sales growth to slow.
- Total retail sales of consumer goods were CNY 4,513.6bn in December (+0.9% YoY), while retail sales excluding autos were CNY 3,965.4bn (+1.7% YoY), indicating autos were a drag on the headline growth rate.
- For full-year 2025, total retail sales reached CNY 5,012.0bn (+3.7% YoY), and retail sales excluding autos totaled CNY 4,514.1bn (+4.4% YoY), showing a firmer underlying pace when autos are excluded.
- Spending momentum was slightly stronger in rural areas, with December urban retail sales at CNY 3,842.9bn (+0.7% YoY) versus rural retail sales at CNY 670.7bn (+1.7% YoY).
- Services continued to outperform goods, with catering revenue up +2.2% YoY in December (CNY 573.8bn) versus goods retail sales up +0.7% YoY (CNY 3,939.8bn).
- Larger retail units weakened in December, as retail sales of consumer goods above designated size fell -1.9% YoY (CNY 1,954.7bn), and goods retail sales at units above designated size fell -2.0% YoY (CNY 1,808.4bn), contrasting with positive growth over the full year (+3.3% and +3.4% YoY, respectively).
- Category-level performance was mixed in December, with strength in communication equipment (+20.9% YoY), cosmetics (+8.8%), cultural office supplies (+9.2%), sports/entertainment products (+9.0%), and jewelry (+5.9%), while household appliances/audio equipment (-18.7%), petroleum products (-11.0%), construction/decoration materials (-11.8%), and autos (-5.0%) remained notable drags.
- Online retail sales remained a key support in 2025, rising +8.6% YoY to CNY 1,597.2bn; online retail sales of physical goods increased +5.2% YoY to CNY 1,309.2bn (26.1% of total retail sales), led by food (+14.5% YoY) while clothing (+1.9%) and daily-use goods (+4.1%) grew more modestly.
- Retail format trends among units above designated size in 2025 showed relatively stronger growth in convenience stores (+5.5% YoY) and supermarkets (+4.3%), while department stores (+0.1%) and specialty stores (+2.6%) were softer, and branded stores declined (-0.6%).
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China’s total retail sales of consumer goods fell -0.42% MoM and were up just +1.3% YoY (vs 2.9% YoY expected) in November 2025, the lowest annual growth since July 2023.
- Total retail sales reached ¥4,389.8B (+1.3% YoY), while non-auto retail sales rose faster at ¥3,944.4B (+2.5% YoY), showing autos as a drag on headline growth.
- From January to November, total retail sales increased +4.0% YoY to ¥456,067B, with non-auto retail up +4.6% YoY, pointing to steadier momentum on a cumulative basis.
- Urban retail sales grew +1.0% YoY in November to ¥3,768.4B, while rural retail sales rose +2.8% YoY to ¥621.4B, indicating stronger relative growth in rural areas.
- By consumption type, goods retail sales increased +1.0% YoY, while catering revenue rose +3.2% YoY, showing services outperforming goods consumption.
- Retail sales of units above designated size declined -2.0% YoY in November, contrasting with +3.8% YoY growth over Jan–Nov, suggesting recent weakness among larger retailers.
- Online retail sales totaled ¥118,193B in Jan–Nov (+5.7% YoY for physical goods), accounting for 25.9% of total retail sales, with food (+14.9%), clothing (+3.5%), and daily-use goods (+4.4%) contributing.
- Category-level gains in November were led by communication equipment (+20.6% YoY), cultural office supplies (+11.7%), jewelry (+8.5%), and cosmetics (+6.1%), reflecting strength in selected discretionary items.
- Weakness persisted in autos (-8.3% YoY), petroleum products (-8.0%), household appliances and audiovisual equipment (-19.4%), and construction materials (-17.0%), weighing on overall retail growth.
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China’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose +2.9% YoY in October 2025, with non-auto retail up +4.0% YoY, reflecting steady but moderate consumption growth across goods and services.
- Urban retail sales increased +2.7% YoY to ¥4.00T, while rural retail sales grew a faster +4.1% YoY, showing comparatively stronger momentum in smaller markets.
- Goods retail sales were up +2.8% YoY to ¥4.11T, and catering revenue rose +3.8% YoY to ¥520B, indicating balanced but modest gains across consumption categories.
- Retail sales above designated size increased +1.6% YoY, highlighting slower growth among large retail enterprises compared with the broader market.
- Online retail sales of physical goods rose +6.3% YoY in Jan–Oct and accounted for 25.2% of total retail activity; food (+15.1%), clothing (+3.6%), and daily-use goods (+5.1%) all contributed.
- Among major goods categories in October, jewelry surged +37.6% YoY, communication equipment grew +23.2%, cosmetics rose +9.6%, and cultural office supplies gained +13.5%, pointing to firm demand in discretionary and technology-related items.
- Petroleum products fell -5.9% YoY and auto sales declined -6.6% YoY, underscoring continued weakness in energy-related and vehicle categories.
- Household appliances and audiovisual equipment dropped -14.6% YoY, marking one of the sharpest declines among major retail sectors.
- Jan–Oct totals showed overall retail sales up +4.3% YoY and non-auto retail up +4.9% YoY, indicating a slightly stronger cumulative pace than October’s monthly reading.
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China’s total retail sales of consumer goods rose +3.0% YoY in September 2025, slightly slower than August’s pace, reflecting steady but moderate consumption growth across goods and services.
- Retail sales excluding autos increased +3.2% YoY, while auto-related sales rose +1.6% YoY, indicating balanced growth between core consumption and vehicle demand.
- Goods retail sales grew +3.3% YoY, supported by solid gains in furniture (+16.2%), communication equipment (+16.2%), and jewelry (+9.7%), while catering revenue increased just +0.9% YoY, showing weaker momentum in services spending.
- Urban retail sales were up +2.9% YoY, compared with +4.0% YoY growth in rural areas, suggesting stronger consumption recovery in smaller markets.
- Online retail sales of physical goods rose +6.5% YoY in Jan–Sep, accounting for 25.0% of total retail sales; food (+15.1%), clothing (+2.8%), and daily-use goods (+5.7%) all contributed to growth.
- Among goods categories, sports and entertainment products (+11.9%), furniture (+16.2%), and cultural office supplies (+6.2%) saw robust gains, while petroleum products (-7.1%) and beverages (-0.8%) declined.
- Retail sales by format showed mixed trends in Jan–Sep: convenience stores (+6.4%) and specialty stores (+4.8%) expanded faster, while department stores (+0.9%) and brand stores (+1.5%) grew more slowly.
- For the first nine months of 2025, total retail sales reached ¥36.59T (+4.5% YoY), with non-auto retail up +4.9% YoY, showing continued, though uneven, consumption recovery.
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Chinese retail sales increased 0.17% MoM and 3.4% YoY in August, down from 3.7% YoY in July and below expectations of an increase of 3.8% YoY.
- Retail sales (ex autos) were up 3.7% YoY, slowing from the 4.3% YoY increase in the previous month.
- Sales growth was consistently positive across segments with only three segments seeing declines: petroleum products (-8.0% YoY), tobacco (-2.3% YoY), and building materials (-0.7% YoY).
- Food, grain & oil sales were up 5.8% YoY, slowing significantly from 8.6% YoY previously.
- Sales of communication equipment like phones also slowed, from 14.9% YoY in July to 7.3% YoY.
- Sales growth for both discretionary and non-discretionary segments slowed with the former decelerating to 8.1% YoY (down from 8.4% YoY) and the latter decelerating to 3.1% YoY (down from 4.2% YoY).
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China’s retail sales fell -0.14% MoM, the 2nd straight monthly decline, but were up +3.7% YoY (vs 4.6% YoY expected) in July 2025. The monthly decline was led by weakness in spending on autos and petroleum products.
- Urban sales grew +3.6% YoY, while rural sales rose +3.9%.
- Online physical goods sales increased +6.3% YoY, accounting for 24.9% of total retail sales; food (+14.7%), clothing (+1.7%), and use goods (+5.8%) all gained.
- Strongest category gains: household appliances (+28.7%), furniture (+20.6%), communication devices (+14.9%), and recreation goods (+13.7%).
- Petroleum products (-8.3% YoY), autos (-1.5%), and building materials (-0.5%) saw declines.
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Chinese retail sales dropped -0.16% MoM but were up 4.8% YoY (vs 5.6% YoY expected) in June 2025, with sales of goods up 5.3% YoY. In H1 2025, total retail sales were up 5.0% YoY.
- Urban retail sales rose 4.8% YoY in June, while rural sales increased 4.5% YoY.
- Online physical goods retail rose 6.0% YoY YTD and accounted for 24.9% of total retail sales.
- Strong June category growth: household appliances (+32.4% YoY), cultural office supplies (+24.4% YoY), and furniture (+28.7% YoY).
- Petroleum product sales fell -7.3% YoY; auto sales rose 4.6% YoY.
- Sales of sports and recreational goods rose 9.5% YoY, while cosmetics (-2.3% YoY) and beverages (-4.4% YoY) declined.
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Chinese retail sales rose 0.93% MoM and 6.4% YoY in May, up from 5.1% YoY in April and well above expectations of a 5.0% YoY increase.
- Urban retail sales rose 6.5% YoY in May vs. 5.4% YoY in rural areas; YTD growth was 5.1% and 4.9%, respectively.
- Goods sales rose 6.5% YoY in May while catering revenue increased 5.9% YoY.
- Household appliances (+53.0% YoY), cultural office supplies (+30.5% YoY), and communication equipment (+33.0% YoY) led category growth.
- Petroleum product sales fell -7.0% YoY and auto sales grew just 1.1% YoY in May.
- Online physical goods retail rose 6.3% YTD and now accounts for 24.5% of total retail sales.
- Several categories saw strong growth in May, leading to the fastest annual increase in retail spending since December 2023.
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Chinese retail sales increased 0.24% MoM and 5.1% YoY in April, down from 5.9% YoY in March and below expectations of a 5.5% YoY gain. The monthly rate was the slowest June 2024.
- Auto sales were significantly weaker in April, up just 0.7% YoY after a 5.5% YoY gain in March.
- Weak energy prices continues to put downward pressure on petroleum product sales, which fell -5.7% YoY in April after a -1.9% YoY decline in March.
- The large food and appliances segments drove the gains in retail sales, up 14.0% YoY and 38.8% YoY, respectively.
- Sales growth in office supplies (33.5% YoY), recreational goods (+23.3% YoY), and daily necessities (+7.6% YoY) are also all firmer suggesting that China’s consumer is solid to start the second quarter.
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Chinese retail sales increased 0.58% MoM and 5.9% YoY in March, blowing past expectations of a smaller 4.2% YoY increase.
- This is the strongest annual increase since December 2023.
- Retail sales by larger firms were up 8.5% YoY, up from 4.3% YoY in the Jan-Feb period and the strongest since November 2023.
- Food and beverage sales were up 5.6% YoY, up from 4.3% YoY in the Jan-Feb period.
- Strong gains were seen in household appliances & A/V equipment (+35.1% YoY), recreational goods (+26.2% YoY), furniture (+29.5% YoY), and communications equipment (+28.6% YoY).
- It’s unclear if the broad acceleration in retail sales growth was a result of Chinese consumers increasing spending ahead of tariffs, but large increases in electronics and phone sales likely could have been impacted.
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Chinese retail sales increased 4.0% YoY in the January-February period, in line with expectations and higher than the 3.7% YoY increase in December.
- On a monthly basis, retail sales were up 0.19% MoM in January and 0.35% MoM in February with the latter rate being the strongest since October 2024.
- On a trailing 11-month basis, retail sales were up 0.5% MoM which is the highest in a year.
- The largest segment of sales, autos, was down -4.4% YoY, limiting the strong gains seen in other segments. Sales excluding autos were up 4.8% YoY.
- Foodstuff sales surged 11.5% YoY, the highest annual increase since May 2022.
- Other major increases were seen in communication devices (+26.2% YoY), office supplies (+21.8% YoY), and recreation goods (+25.0% YoY)
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Chinese retail sales came in at 0.12% MoM and 3.7% YoY in December, beating out expectations of a 3.5% YoY increase. The acceleration in retail sales growth came from higher sales of physical goods which were up 3.9% YoY, up from 2.8% YoY in November. Specifically, there was a strong increase in household appliances sales, surging 39.3% YoY in December and 12.3% in 2024 as a whole. Additionally, strong communication devices (+14.0% YoY) and daily necessities (+6.3% YoY) sales helped drive growth. These were offset, however, by a weak rise in auto sales (+0.5% YoY) and a slight decline in clothing sales (-0.3% YoY).

The monthly trend in retail sales growth has remained stable and increasing in the last few months. In Q4, monthly gains (based on an 11-month trailing sum) averaged 0.34%, up from an average of 0.21% in both Q2 and and Q3. This suggests that consumer strength has firmed up.

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