NBS: January–February Retail Sales Reach 8.6079 Trillion Yuan, Up 2.8% Year on Year

According to Caixin, on March 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in the first two months of the year, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8.6079 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.8% compared to the same period last year, accelerating by 1.9 percentage points from December of the previous year. According to the location of business units, retail sales in urban areas reached 7.4449 trillion yuan, up 2.7%, while retail sales in rural areas reached 1.163 trillion yuan, up 3.2%.

By consumption type, the retail sales of goods reached 7.5815 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.5%; catering revenue was 1.0264 trillion yuan, up 4.8%. Sales of basic living necessities and some upgraded goods grew rapidly. The retail sales of clothing, shoes, and textiles, grain and oil food products, communication equipment, and gold and jewelry in units above the designated size increased by 10.4%, 10.2%, 17.8%, and 13.0% respectively. Compared with the previous month, the total retail sales of consumer goods in February increased by 0.81%. In the first two months, service retail sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year, an increase of 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year's full year. Among them, retail sales of communication information services, tourism consulting and rental services, and cultural, sports, and leisure services grew rapidly.

From January to February, the national online retail sales of goods and services amounted to RMB 325.46 billion, an increase of 9.2% year-on-year. Specifically, online retail sales of goods totaled RMB 208.12 billion, up 10.3% year-on-year, accounting for 24.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods; online retail sales of services reached RMB 117.34 billion, up 7.3% year-on-year.