Workers at an express delivery company’s grid warehouse sort parcels on an intelligent express delivery line in Xinghua, East China’s Jiangsu Province on May 20, 2026. Data released by the State Post Bureau shows that from January to April, the postal industry handled 70.16 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent. Among them, express delivery volume reached 64.57 billion parcels, a year-on-year increase of 5.1 percent. Photo: VCG

China’s household consumption logistics remained resilient in the first half of this year, with online consumption emerging as the primary growth drive, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Wednesday.

In the first six months, logistics demand for goods used by enterprises and households rose 3.8 percent year-on-year, according to a report from China Media Group.

The latest figures underscore the resilience of China’s consumer logistics sector, as online shopping, product upgrading and broader distribution networks continue to support growth in daily-life freight and delivery services, Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

During the period, online retail sales of physical goods increased 4.8 percent, outpacing the overall growth of commodity retail sales by 3.7 percentage points, the federation said. The expansion of e-commerce express services continued to support the growth of logistics tied to daily life, with new business formats and models injecting fresh momentum into the sector.

The data showed that household consumption logistics continued to expand steadily, driven by online channels, consumption upgrading and growing demand in lower-tier markets, said the report.

Meanwhile, consumption upgrading further optimized the structure of logistics demand. In the first half of the year, logistics demand for green, smart and higher-quality consumer goods was released steadily. Retail sales of communication equipment at enterprises above designated size grew 14.4 percent year-on-year, while sales of home appliances with high energy-efficiency ratings rose by more than 30 percent. 

Cosmetics and trendy toys also maintained relatively rapid growth, helping drive the upgrading of last-mile logistics services, said the federation.

In addition, lower-tier markets created additional room for growth. Rural retail sales of consumer goods rose 2.5 percent in the first half, 1.3 percentage points faster than in urban areas. As county- and township-level logistics distribution systems continue to improve, they are unlocking additional demand in household consumption logistics, the federation said.

From January to June, total social logistics volume expanded 5.1 percent year-on-year to 181.1 trillion yuan ($26.7 trillion), outpacing GDP growth by 0.4 percentage points. The sector's role in driving national economic growth continues to strengthen, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the first six months, China's logistics demand continued to expand, with notable structural optimization and a shift in growth drivers. Zhou Zhicheng, a spokesperson for the federation, said that while total social logistics volume kept growing steadily, the structure of social logistics has undergone a significant transformation. 

“Logistics demand in sectors such as high-end manufacturing, equipment technology, and consumer goods for daily life grew faster than traditional logistics demand. The features of internationalization, high-end development, and greening are especially evident,” he added.

The faster expansion of logistics demand in high-end manufacturing, equipment technology, and everyday consumer goods suggests that China’s economy is shifting toward more advanced, diversified, and consumption-driven activity, Wang said.

“The data suggest that the demand is not only expanding, but also upgrading, as consumers increasingly favor green, smart, and higher-quality products,” he said.

As consumption scenarios continue to expand, logistics demand from e-commerce and online retail has been further consolidated and optimized. Specifically, driven by the rapid development of digital consumption, logistics demand for digital and smart products such as smart home systems and intelligent robots grew rapidly, Wang said.

According to Wang, the booming performance of instant retail and new e-commerce business models reflects the exceptionally strong adaptability and resilience of the domestic demand market. Overall, the strong performance of household consumption logistics reflects both the vitality of China’s consumer market and the sector’s growing ability to adapt to structural changes in demand.


Global Times