National Bureau of Statistics- Total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 3.2% year-on-year in September

According to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics on October 18, retail sales of consumer goods reached 41.112 billion yuan in September, marking a 3.2% year-on-year increase, which is an acceleration of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous month. Excluding automobile sales, the retail figure stood at 36.573 billion yuan, growing by 3.6%. For the January to September period, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 353.564 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 3.3%, with sales excluding automobiles amounting to 318.203 billion yuan, a rise of 3.8%.

When comparing retail sales based on location, urban areas saw sales of 35.044 billion yuan in September, up 3.1% from a year earlier, while rural areas reported sales of 6.068 billion yuan, a 3.9% increase. For the first nine months of the year, urban retail sales totaled 305.869 billion yuan, growing by 3.2%, whereas rural retail sales were 47.695 billion yuan, a more robust 4.4% growth.

Breaking it down further by consumption type, in September, retail sales of goods reached 36.695 billion yuan, increasing by 3.3%. Meanwhile, revenue from the food and beverage sector was 4.417 billion yuan, showing a 3.1% rise. From January to September, total retail sales of goods totaled 314.149 billion yuan, an increase of 3.0%, while food and beverage revenue climbed 6.2% to 39.415 billion yuan.

When examining the retail sector by format, data from the first nine months showed that convenience stores, specialty shops, and supermarkets within larger retail units experienced year-on-year sales growth of 4.7%, 4.0%, and 2.4%, respectively. Conversely, department stores and branded specialty stores saw declines of 3.3% and 1.7%.

In terms of online shopping, total online retail sales reached 1.08928 trillion yuan nationwide, reflecting an impressive year-on-year growth of 8.6%. Of this total, sales of tangible goods online amounted to 907.21 billion yuan, growing by 7.9% and accounting for 25.7% of total retail sales of consumer goods. Notably, within the segment of tangible goods sold online, food, clothing, and household items saw increases of 17.8%, 4.1%, and 7.2%, respectively.