A staff member introduced consumers to a trade-in program for smart home appliances at a home appliance store located in Chongqing's Shapingba district on July 11, 2024. Photo: VCG

The retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 3.717 trillion yuan ($515.3 billion) in April, up 5.1 percent year-on-year, maintaining a stable growth. The consumer goods trade-in initiative has continued to yield positive results, the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed on Monday.

The country's stimulus economic policies to shore up the economy continue to manifest their effect, with market sales maintaining an upward trend, Fu Linghui, NBS spokesperson, said on Monday at a press conference, noting that the momentum for consumption growth needs further strengthening in the rest of the year.

In a breakdown, retail sales of goods reached 3.3007 trillion yuan, up 5.1 percent, and catering sector revenue was 416.7 billion yuan, up 5.2 percent. Sales of essential goods and certain upgraded goods grew strongly, with retail sales of grain, oil, and food products, as well as sports and entertainment supplies by enterprises above the designated size, rising by 14.0 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively.

Among the total retail sales of consumer goods, urban retail sales amounted to 3.2376 trillion yuan, up 5.2 percent, while rural retail sales hit 479.8 billion yuan, up 4.7 percent, according to NBS data.

"The launch of an action plan to promote large-scale equipment renewal and trade-in of consumer goods has boosted sales and services consumption, which strongly supported the economy," said Fu.

The consumer goods trade-in policy has yielded results, with retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment surging by 38.8 percent in April, cultural and office supplies growing by 33.5 percent, furniture sales surging by 26.9 percent and telecommunication devices by 19.9 percent.

The consumer goods trade-in initiative, launched in March 2024, aims to spur spending and economic growth. It encourages consumers to replace outdated consumer goods like electronics and household appliances with new models. In January, China announced a raft of measures to expand the scope of the consumer goods trade-in.

As a result, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 16.1845 trillion yuan in the first four months, up 4.7 percent year-on-year. The online retail sales amounted to 4.7419 trillion yuan, up 7.7 percent, with online retail sales of physical goods totaling 3.9265 trillion yuan, up 5.8 percent, accounting for 24.3 percent of total retail sales.

"With the rapid development of information technology and the continuous improvement of logistics networks, new retail formats such as online retail and marketplace retail have gained popularity among consumers for their efficiency and convenience," said Fu.

Retail sales of services from January to April grew by 5.1 percent year-on-year, NBS data showed.

Fu pointed out that service consumption related to tourism and travel has grown rapidly, driven by strong holiday travel demand, leading to significant increases in residents' spending on tourism, transportation, telecommunication, and other services.

"From January to April, retail sales in transportation, telecommunication, information, tourism, consulting, and leasing services all maintained double-digit growth," Fu noted.

Global Times