China’s retail sales growth weakened sharply in April, with total retail sales rising just 0.2% YoY after stronger gains earlier in the year, pointing to ongoing softness in household demand and discretionary spending.

• Retail sales excluding automobiles increased 1.8% YoY, while overall goods retail sales fell -0.1%. Auto sales dropped -15.3% YoY, continuing to weigh heavily on headline consumption trends.
• Several discretionary and housing-related categories remained notably weak. Household appliances fell -15.1%, furniture declined -10.4%, construction and decoration materials dropped -13.8%, and sports and entertainment products fell -8.0%.
• Urban retail sales contracted -0.1% YoY in April, while rural sales rose 2.1%, suggesting consumption softness was concentrated more heavily in cities.
• Some categories still showed resilience, including communication equipment (+6.2%), cosmetics (+4.7%), food (+4.1%), and tobacco and alcohol (+11.7%), though gains were not broad enough to offset weakness elsewhere.
• Online retail sales continued to outperform, rising 6.6% YoY in January-April and accounting for 25% of total retail sales, highlighting the continued shift toward digital consumption channels.