Interpretation from the National Bureau of Statistics: The operation of China's consumer market remained stable from January to July
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 17, Yuan Yan, chief statistician of the Trade and Economics Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, interpreted the consumer market data for January-July. Yuan Yan pointed out that since this year, policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption have continued to be effective. The scale of China's consumer market has been steadily expanding, and the quality of development has continued to improve. Merchandise retail is expanding and upgrading, service retail is innovating and expanding, online retail has maintained relatively rapid growth, and new consumption formats and models are bursting with vitality. In the next stage, it is necessary to continue to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, coordinate employment stabilization and income growth, strengthen coordination and linkage of consumer promotion policies, adapt to the consumer needs of different groups, expand high-quality supply, tap the potential for service consumption, and promote the positive development of the consumer market.
The original text is as follows:
The consumer market remains stable
——Yuan Yan, chief statistician of the Trade and Economics Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, interprets the January-July consumer market data
Since this year, policies and measures to expand domestic demand and promote consumption have continued to bear fruit. The scale of China's consumer market has been steadily expanding and the quality of development has continued to improve. Product retail expansion and upgrading, service retail innovation and expansion, online retail has maintained rapid growth, and new consumption formats and models are bursting with vitality.
1. The consumer market is growing steadily, and consumer demand for services continues to be released
From January to July, total retail sales of consumer goods and services increased 2.6% year on year; among them, retail sales of services increased by 5.0%, which was 3.9 percentage points higher than retail sales of goods. In the past three years, service retail has continued to grow faster than commodity retail, and the consumer market is clearly characterized by a shift from being dominated by commodity consumption to placing equal emphasis on goods and services. Consumer demand is becoming increasingly personalized, diversified and qualitative, the consumer market is becoming more diverse and rich, and the advantages of China's hyperscale market continue to show.
The cultural, sports and tourism market continues to be active. Culture, sports and tourism have been deeply integrated, new business formats and new scenarios have been launched at an accelerated pace, and related consumption has grown rapidly. From January to July, retail sales of travel consulting and rental services and cultural, sports and leisure services all grew by more than 10%. According to data from relevant departments, the inbound tourism market continues to heat up. Benefiting from a series of facilitation policies such as visa-free transit, the number of foreigners entering the first half of the year increased by 20.4% year-on-year, of which the number of visa-free foreigners entered increased by 30.6%. In the first half of the year, box office revenue for commercial shows nationwide (excluding entertainment venues) increased 9.4%. At the same time, sporting events are being held intensively in various regions, and joint cultural, commercial and tourism are continuously spawning new hot spots in sports consumption.
2. The scale of product sales expands steadily, and the urban and rural structure continues to be optimized
From January to July, total retail sales of social consumer goods amounted to 28774.4 billion yuan, an increase of 1.2% over the previous year; after deducting automotive products, retail sales of consumer goods increased 2.7%. Due to extreme weather and other factors, the market sales growth rate in July declined from the previous month, but remained generally stable from a cumulative perspective.
The rural market is growing faster than the urban one. The comprehensive revitalization of the countryside is progressing steadily, the rural trade and logistics system is becoming more and more perfect, and the consumption potential of the rural market continues to be stimulated. From January to July, retail sales of rural consumer goods reached 3845.9 billion yuan, an increase of 2.4% over the previous year. The growth rate was 1.3 percentage points higher than that of the urban market. According to estimates, retail sales of consumer goods in counties and villages, including towns and villages, accounted for 39.1% of total retail sales of social consumer goods, an increase of 0.3 percentage points over the same period last year, and the urban and rural structure of the consumer goods market was further optimized.
3. Online retail is growing rapidly, and physical retail accelerates innovation and development
Next-generation artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies are being implemented at an accelerated pace, online transaction supervision continues to be improved, and the connection between market supply and demand is more efficient, driving the continuous release of online consumption vitality. From January to July, retail sales of online goods and services increased 4.8% year on year. Among them, retail sales of online services increased by 5.2%, the growth rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than retail sales of services, and retail sales of online products increased by 4.6%, and the growth rate was 3.5 percentage points higher than retail sales of goods. New models such as instant delivery accelerated development. From January to July, online retail sales of food products increased by 16.9%, 0.1 percentage points faster than in the first half of the year.
The entity's new business format is developing optimally. Physical retail enterprises actively carry out digital transformation, using technologies such as the Internet of Things and big data to unblock sales channels and upgrade the consumer experience. From January to July, retail sales of goods achieved by units above the limit through the Internet accounted for 28.7% of retail sales of consumer goods per unit above the limit, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the same period last year. New business formats for entities with rich categories and good experiences are growing rapidly. From January to July, retail sales of unit warehousing member stores and unattended stores above the limit all grew by more than 25% year-on-year; retail sales in shopping malls continued to grow in double digits; and retail sales in consolidated stores accelerated for three consecutive months.
4. Sales of basic lifestyle products are growing steadily, and the performance of green smart products is improving
From January to July, retail sales of goods increased 1.1% year on year, the same growth rate as in the first half of the year. Among the units above the limit, retail sales of over 60% of product categories increased, and retail sales of nearly 40% of product categories grew by more than 5%. Sales of basic lifestyle products grew steadily, and retail sales of food, beverages, tobacco and alcohol per unit above the limit increased by 7.2%, 5.6%, and 12.4%, respectively.
The trade-in policy has been optimized and implemented, and the retail performance of green smart products is good. From January to July, retail sales of energy-efficient household appliances per unit above the limit grew by more than 30% year on year, slightly faster than in the first half of the year; retail sales of wearable smart devices, including smart glasses, more than doubled; retail sales of communication equipment increased 15.1%, 0.7 percentage points faster than in the first half of the year.
Since this year, special actions to boost consumption have been implemented in depth, and the overall operation of China's consumer market has been stable. In the next stage, it is necessary to continue to thoroughly implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, coordinate employment stabilization and income growth, strengthen coordination and linkage of consumer promotion policies, adapt to the consumer needs of different groups, expand high-quality supply, tap the potential for service consumption, and promote the positive development of the consumer market.
This article was compiled from the official website of the “National Bureau of Statistics”, Zhitong Finance Editor: Feng Qiuyi.