People visit the Qingyun Market in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Jan. 5, 2026. The city of Guiyang has been committed to the update and renovation of old commercial blocks, streets and factory areas. The renewed streets, such as Taiping, Minsheng, and Qingyun Roads have become vibrant spaces for relaxation and spending, driving urban consumption vitality and enhancing the city's youthful appeal. Photo: Xinhua

China's retail sales of consumer goods expanded by 3.7 percent year-on-year to 50.12 trillion yuan ($7.19 trillion) in 2025, according to latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

The contribution of domestic consumption to China's GDP growth last year exceeded 50 percent, reaching 52 percent, representing an increase of 5 percentage points compared to the previous year, said Kang Yi, head of the NBS. Consumption served as the primary driving force and stabilizing anchor of economic growth, said Kang.

Looking ahead to 2026, despite facing pressures and challenges, there remain numerous positive factors supporting consumption growth, and the consumer market is expected to achieve steady expansion, Kang said, citing strengths in China's vast consumer base and tremendous potential amid an ongoing consumption upgrading toward higher-quality products and services.

Policies aimed at boosting consumption will continue to take effect, the NBS head said, highlighting intensified efforts this year to implement initiatives aimed at revitalizing domestic consumption, along with new plans to increase the incomes of urban and rural residents.

In December, the retail sales of consumer goods rose 0.9 percent year-on-year to reach 4.51 trillion yuan. The growth rate was 0.12 percentage points slower than November, NBS data showed.

China's online retail sales reached 15.97 trillion yuan, up 8.6 percent year-on-year. Online retail sales of goods reached 13.09 trillion yuan, marking an increase of 5.2 percent, accounting for 26.1 percent of the total retail sales.

Sales of daily necessities and some upgraded goods showed strong growth momentum. Throughout last year, the retail sales of telecommunication equipment increased by 20.9 percent while the retail sales of household electric appliances surged by 11 percent.

Meanwhile, the potential of the service consumption was continuously being unlocked, with last year's services sector sales increased 5.5 percent year-on-year, outpacing the growth of goods sales by 1.7 percentage points. 

In 2025, retail sales of tourism consulting and leasing services, transportation services, and cultural, sports, and leisure services all maintained double-digit growth, while the total domestic box office revenue increased by over 20 percent year-on-year, NBS data showed.

At the same time, emerging sectors such as the silver economy, ice and snow economy, and debut economy are gaining sustained momentum, increasingly becoming new drivers of consumption growth, said the NBS head.

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday that 2025 consumption data has shown resilience, despite the economy faces issues such as insufficient demand.

According to NBS's Kang, the consumer goods trade-in policy will remain in place and undergo continuous optimization and the first batch of ultra-long-term special treasury bond funds, amounting to 62.5 billion yuan, has already been allocated in advance, and the removal of unreasonable restrictions in the consumption sector is steadily progressing. The implementation of these policies will provide strong support for consumption growth.

Looking ahead, Sun said China's consumption sector boasts renewed vigor as local governments are expected to introduce consumption stimulus policies, focusing on optimizing or innovating consumption scenarios, tapping into local resources, and creating differentiated experiences to better meet consumers' demand for high-quality services.

Global Times