From January to November, national online retail sales increased by 9.1%. Smart wearables and intelligent robots increased by 22.1% and 19.4% respectively

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on December 19, the head of the e-commerce department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the e-commerce development situation in China from January to November 2025. Improving the quality of online retail unlocks the potential of domestic demand. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, online retail sales across the country increased by 9.1% from January to November. Digital products on key monitoring platforms of the Ministry of Commerce increased by 8.2%. Among them, smart wearables and intelligent robots increased by 22.1% and 19.4% respectively, while online service consumption increased by 21.7%. Online retail is driving rapid growth in express delivery business. According to data from the State Post Office, as of November 30, China's express delivery business volume exceeded 180 billion units, a record high.

The original text is as follows:

The head of the E-Commerce Department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the e-commerce development situation in China from January to November 2025

The Ministry of Commerce implements the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference, giving full play to the positive role of e-commerce in boosting consumption, driving innovation, and opening up to the outside world to help build a strong domestic market, cultivate and expand new momentum, and promote win-win international economic and trade cooperation.

Improving the quality of online retail unlocks the potential of domestic demand. The “Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Developing Digital Consumption to Create a Better Life in the Digital Era” has been thoroughly implemented, and digital consumption and online services have become driving forces for growth. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, online retail sales across the country increased by 9.1% from January to November. Digital products on key monitoring platforms of the Ministry of Commerce increased by 8.2%. Among them, smart wearables and intelligent robots increased by 22.1% and 19.4% respectively, while online service consumption increased by 21.7%. Online retail is driving rapid growth in express delivery business. According to data from the State Post Office, as of November 30, China's express delivery business volume exceeded 180 billion units, a record high.

E-commerce platforms help transformation and enhance innovation drivers. Industrial e-commerce benefits nearly 450 enterprises, promoting agricultural and industrial SMEs to accelerate digital and intelligent transformation. From January to November, business big data monitoring rural networks increased by 9.8%, while textile and pharmaceutical transactions on key monitoring industrial e-commerce platforms increased by 6.6% and 3.5%, respectively. The dominant position of platform innovation continues to strengthen. The average R&D intensity of major e-commerce platforms reached 8.3% in the first three quarters, ranking among the highest in the world in fields such as AI clouds, self-developed Wensheng videos, and large Wensheng image models. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in January-October, China achieved a 13.4% increase in revenue from cloud computing and big data services, and a 12.1% increase in revenue from e-commerce platform technology services.

Silk Road e-commerce promotes cooperation to deepen mutual benefit and win-win situation. The national “Silk Road Cloud Products” e-commerce month event was held to create popular products such as Australian steak, Uzbek biscuits, and Indonesian bird's nest. Sales increased more than tenfold, driving retail sales of imported products from key monitoring platforms to increase 5.6% in January-November, and amplifying the channel effect of e-commerce connecting domestic and international consumer markets. Capacity building and innovation have empowered partner countries to continuously host special overseas training sessions at the Cloud Lecture Hall in Thailand and Laos. More than 150 representatives from the government, industry, and small and medium-sized enterprises participated to help achieve new results in building a common destiny with neighboring countries.

This article was selected from “Ministry of Commerce”, editor of Zhitong Finance: Jiang Yuanhua.