Key Figures and Growth Areas

From January to June, China’s total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 23.5969 trillion RMB, representing a 3.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

Online retail sales of physical goods reached 5.9596 trillion RMB, up by 8.8%, accounting for 25.3% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Significant growth was observed in the online retail sales of food, clothing, and daily necessities:

• Food products: +17.8%
• Clothing: +7.0%
• Daily necessities: +7.8%

Technological Impact on Retail

According to a spokesperson from the NBS, the advent of new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence has generated innovative consumption scenarios.

Emerging consumer models like live-streaming e-commerce and instant delivery services have been pivotal in driving the 8.8% increase in online retail sales of physical goods. Additionally, the volume of express delivery services has surpassed 80 billion packages.

E-Commerce Trends and Analysis

The China Retail Performance Index (CRPI) for July, released by the China General Chamber of Commerce, showed the e-commerce physical goods total sales index at 50.2%, down 4.2 percentage points from the previous month but still within the expansion range.

Meanwhile, the e-commerce average order value index stood at 50.0%, a 1.6 percentage point increase from the previous month.

Analysts attribute the rise in the average order value to the conclusion of mid-year e-commerce promotional events, which resulted in a decrease in “bargain-hunting” consumer behavior.

Outlook

The robust growth in China’s online retail sector reflects the continuous evolution and adaptation of the retail industry to new technologies and consumer preferences. As digital transformation accelerates, the integration of AI and big data is expected to further enhance the efficiency and appeal of online shopping, maintaining the sector’s upward trajectory.

China’s Retail Sales Sees 4.7% Year-on-Year Increase in Q1

China’s retail sector showed a robust increase in March, with total retail sales of consumer goods climbing to 3.9 trillion yuan ($568 billion), marking a 3.1% rise compared to the same month last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released on April 17. Excluding automobiles, sales rose by 3.9% to nearly 3.5 trillion yuan.

For the first quarter of 2024, the total retail sales reached approximately 12 trillion yuan, a 4.7% increase year-over-year. Sales excluding cars also mirrored this growth rate, amounting to 10.9 trillion yuan.

Urban areas saw significant retail activity, with sales amounting to 3.38 trillion yuan in March alone, up by 3% from last year, while rural retail sales rose by 3.8% to 518 billion yuan. Over the first three months, urban sales increased by 4.6% to 10.4 trillion yuan, whereas rural sales grew faster at 5.2%, reaching 1.6 trillion yuan.

The data also highlighted a divergence in performance across different retail sectors. In March, goods sales increased by 2.7% to reach 3.5 trillion yuan, while the catering industry surged by 6.9% to 396 billion yuan. From January to March, goods sales rose by 4% to 10.7 trillion yuan, and catering revenues jumped by 10.8% to 1.3 trillion yuan.

Looking at retail formats, the first quarter showed mixed results. Supermarkets, convenience stores, specialty stores, and brand-exclusive shops saw sales increase by 2.2%, 5.2%, 6.3%, and 1.1% respectively, while department stores experienced a sales drop of 2.4%.

E-commerce continued to expand rapidly, with online retail sales hitting 3.3 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up by 12.4% year-over-year. Online sales of physical goods, which include food, clothing, and other consumer items, grew by 11.6% to 2.8 trillion yuan, representing 23.3% of the total retail sales. Specific increases were seen in food (21.1%), clothing (12.1%), and other consumer goods (9.7%).

Strategic and Operational Highlights

CEO Sandy Xu emphasized JD.com’s focus on improving user experience, leading to significant growth in active users and engagement. The company continues to provide a superior combination of selection, speed, quality, and price, resonating with consumers nationwide.

AI in Livestreaming

On April 16, 2024, JD.com introduced an AI digital representative of founder Richard Qiangdong Liu for its livestreaming rooms. This innovation attracted over 20 million views within the first hour, marking a significant milestone in AI integration within e-commerce.

Healthcare Expansion

JD Health partnered with pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and Sanofi to debut new drugs online, enhancing accessibility and upgrading its one-stop medicine retailing and healthcare services through collaborations with Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi Sankyo.

Logistics Growth

JD Logistics expanded its support for Chinese brands globally. In Q1 2024, it provided integrated supply chain services to MINISO stores in Australia and Malaysia, showcasing JD’s international warehousing and fulfillment capabilities.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: Net revenues for Q1 2024 were RMB260.0 billion (US$36.0 billion), a 7.0% increase from Q1 2023.
• Income from Operations: Reached RMB7.7 billion (US$1.1 billion), up 19.8% from Q1 2023.
• Net Income: Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders was RMB7.1 billion (US$1.0 billion), up 13.9% from Q1 2023.
• Earnings per Share: Diluted net income per ADS was RMB4.53 (US$0.63), a 15.3% increase from Q1 2023.

Between January 1 and May 15, 2024, JD.com repurchased 98.3 million Class A ordinary shares (49.2 million ADSs) for US$1.3 billion, representing 3.1% of its outstanding shares as of December 31, 2023.

Excluding automobiles, the retail sales ascended to 3,813.1 billion yuan, demonstrating a 7.9% rise. This surge is part of a broader trend observed throughout the year, with total sales reaching 47,149.5 billion yuan, up 7.2% from the previous year.

Non-automobile sales contributed significantly, reaching 42,288.1 billion yuan, a 7.3% increase, showcasing the robust consumer confidence and spending that defines the retail landscape in China.

Urban and rural areas alike witnessed growth, with urban consumer goods sales hitting 3,707.1 billion yuan in December, a 7.2% increase, and rural sales climbing to 647.9 billion yuan, up by 8.9%.

Annually, urban sales reached 40,749.0 billion yuan in 2023, and rural sales saw a notable 8.0% increase to 6,400.5 billion yuan, highlighting the widespread economic vitality across various demographics.

The consumption pattern analysis reveals a diversified growth trajectory, with goods retail sales reaching 3,814.5 billion yuan in December, a 4.8% year-on-year increase.

The catering industry, in particular, experienced a remarkable boom, with income soaring to 540.5 billion yuan, up by an astonishing 30.0%. Over the year, goods retail sales saw a 5.8% increase, totaling 41,860.5 billion yuan, while the catering industry’s income surged by 20.4%, reaching 5,289.0 billion yuan, underscoring the dynamic recovery and expansion of China’s service sectors.

The retail format analysis for 2023 indicates a nuanced landscape.

Department stores, convenience stores, specialty stores, and brand stores in retail enterprises above the designated size witnessed growth rates of 8.8%, 7.5%, 4.9%, and 4.5% respectively.

However, supermarkets experienced a slight contraction, with sales decreasing by 0.4%, signalling shifting consumer preferences and the evolving retail environment.

Online retail sales emerged as a formidable force, totaling 15,426.4 billion yuan in 2023, an 11.0% increase from the previous year.

Physical goods online sales accounted for 27.6% of the total retail sales, reaching 13,017.4 billion yuan, up by 8.4%. Within this segment, food, clothing, and consumer goods experienced growth rates of 11.2%, 10.8%, and 7.1% respectively, illustrating the increasing consumer reliance on digital platforms for a wide range of purchases.

Private domain operation trends of retail chain enterprises in China

In rural areas, the seriously unbalanced gender ratio makes it more difficult for men to find a partner. Some people are reluctant to introduce a partner because the success rate is too low.

Since the 1980s, there has been a high proportion of boys in children born every year in China. As they gradually enter marriage and childbearing age, there has indeed been a phenomenon that men encounter fierce competition in the marriage market and even can’t find a spouse.

However, the distribution of this phenomenon is uneven. This phenomenon is not obvious in large cities due to the supplementary effect of the incoming population, but it will be more prominent in some rural areas, remote areas, and areas with a low level of economic development.

There are differences in the gender ratio of the marriageable population between urban and rural areas.

The gender ratio of the marriageable population in big cities tends to be feminine, resulting in the phenomenon of “older leftover women”; the gender ratio of the marriageable population in the vast rural areas, especially in remote areas, tends to be masculine, resulting in the problem of “grass-roots singles”.

Gender composition should be divided into age groups. From the main marriage and childbearing age group of 20 to 40, there are more than 17 million men than women, not more than 30 million, according to NBS.

Guangdong is the province with the highest proportion of men, accounting for 53.07% of the male population and 46.93% of the female population, with a gender ratio of 113.08. Followed by Hainan, the proportion of the male population is 53.02%, the female population is 46.98%, and the gender ratio is 112.86.

The three northeastern provinces are the most balanced. Among them, Jilin and Liaoning are the only provinces in China where the female population exceeds the male population.

7 Major Consumer Segments Shaping Chinese Market Landscape

The retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 35,131.7 billion yuan (US$5,129 bn) in 2019, up by 7.9% year-on-year while that in rural areas was 6,033.2 billion yuan (US$881 bn), up by 9.0% year-on-year.

The catering services in 2019 gained 4,672.1 billion yuan (US$682 bn), up by 9.4% year-on-year.

In 2019, the retail sales of supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, and specialty stores in the retail sector above designated size increased by 6.5%, 1.4%, 3.2%, and 1.5% respectively over the previous year.

In 2019, China’s online retail sales reached 10,632.4 billion yuan (US$1,552 bn), an increase of 16.5% over the previous year.

Among them, the online retail sales of physical goods reached 8,523.9 billion yuan, an increase of 19.5%, accounting for 20.7 percent of the total retail sales of social consumer goods; among the online retail sales of physical goods, food, clothing, and other consumer goods increased by 30.9%, 15.4%, and 19.8% respectively.

Breakdown of Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods in China: Dec vs. 2019

The turnover of post services totaled 1,623.0 billion yuan, up by 31.5 percent over the previous year.

In 2019, the number of mail delivery was 2.17 billion; that of parcel delivery was 20 million, and that of express delivery was 63.52 billion with revenue reaching 749.8 billion yuan.

eBook: Brick & Mortar Retail’s Transformation with WeChat Pay Smart Store

The gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 45,093.3 billion yuan (US$6,565.68 billion) in the first half of 2019, a year-on-year increase of 6.3% at comparable prices according to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China. The year-on-year GDP growth for the first quarter was 6.4 percent, and 6.2% for the second quarter.

The value-added of the primary industry was 2,320.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 3.0%; the secondary industry was 17,998.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 5.8%; and the tertiary industry was 24,774.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.0%.

Agricultural Production

In the first half of 2019, the value-added of crop farming grew by 3.9% year on year, 0.5 percentage point slower than the first quarter. The overall output of summer grain was 141.74 million tons, an increase of 2.93 million tons over last year, up by 2.1 percent, hitting the highest record as that of 2017.

The structure of crop farming was further optimized, as planting area for cotton and soybean increased. In the first half, the output of eggs grew by 3.6% year on year, and that of milk grew by 1.7%. The output of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry was 39.11 million tons, down by 2.1 percent, among which, the output of beef, mutton and poultry grew by 2.4 percent, 1.5% and 5.6% year on year respectively, while the output of pork went down by 5.5%.

Industrial Production

In the first half, the year-on-year growth rate of total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.0 percent, 0.5 percentage point slower than the first quarter.

In June, the year-on-year growth rate of total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.3 percent, 1.3 percentage points faster than that of May, up by 0.68% month on month.

An analysis by types of ownership showed that the value-added of the state holding enterprises went up by 5.0% year on year; that of share-holding enterprises up by 7.3%; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 1.4%.

In terms of sectors, the value-added of the mining grew by 3.5% year on year, the manufacturing grew by 6.4% and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas, and water grew by 7.3%. The value-added of strategic emerging industries grew by 7.7 percent, 1.7 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.

The value-added of high-tech manufacturing grew by 9.0 percent, 3.0 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, accounting for 13.8% of the total value added of the industrial enterprises above the designated size, 0.8 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year.

The output of new energy vehicles and solar cells grew by 34.6% and 20.1% year on year.

In the first five months of 2019, the total profits made by industrial enterprises above the designated size was 2,379.0 billion yuan, down by 2.3% year on year, 1.1 percentage points less than that of the first four months. The profits of industrial enterprises above the designated size in May grew by 1.1 percent, while that for April was down by 3.7% year on year.

The profit rate of the business revenue of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 5.72 percent, 0.2 percentage point higher than that of the first four months in 2019.

Service Sector Grew Fast

In the first half, the service sector maintained good momentum. The value-added of information transmission, software, and information technology services, that of leasing and business services, that of transport, storage and postal services, and that of financial intermediation grew by 20.6 percent, 7.8 percent, 7.3% and 7.3% year on year respectively, or 13.6 percentage points, 0.8 percentage point, 0.3 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point faster than that of the tertiary industry.

In the first half of 2019, the Index of Services Production increased by 7.3% year on year, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of the first quarter; specifically, that for June grew by 7.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of May.

In June, the Business Activity Index for services was 53.4 percent, continuing to stay above the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction. The Business Activities Expectation Index for services was 60.3 percent, staying at a high level.

In the first five months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size increased by 10.1% year on year, 0.3 percentage point faster than that of the first four months; specifically, the business revenue of strategic emerging services, high-tech services and technology services demonstrated fast growth, which increased by 12.5 percent, 12.3% and 12.0% respectively, or 2.4 percentage points, 2.2 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points faster than the growth of the service enterprises above the designated size.

Market Sales Demonstrated a Stable and Rising Trend with Higher Growth Rate and Share for Online Retail Sales

Investment Witnessed Steady Growth and the Investment in High-tech Industries Grew Fast

In the first half, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 29,910.0 billion yuan, up by 5.8% year on year, 0.2 percentage point faster than that of the first five months, or 0.5 percentage point slower than that of the first quarter.

Specifically, the private investment reached 18,028.9 billion yuan, up by 5.7%. The investment in the primary industry went down by 0.6%; the secondary industry went up by 2.9 percent, among which, that in manufacturing went up by 3.0%; the tertiary industry went up by 7.4 percent, among which, that in infrastructure was up by 4.1%.

The investment in the high-tech manufacturing industry increased by 10.4 percent, 4.6 percentage points faster than the total investment; the investment in high-tech services went up by 13.5 percent, 7.7 percentage points faster than the total investment. In June, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) grew by 0.44% month on month.

In the first half, the total investment in real estate development was 6,160.9 billion yuan, up by 10.9 percent, or 0.9 percentage point slower than that of the first quarter. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 757.86 million square meters, down by 1.8% year-on-year. The total sales of commercial buildings were 7,069.8 billion yuan, up by 5.6 percent, maintaining the same speed as that of the first quarter.

Imports and Exports Showed Slight Growth

In the first half, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 14,667.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.9 percent, 0.2 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

The total value of exports was 7,952.1 billion yuan, up by 6.1%; the total value of imports was 6,715.5 billion yuan, up by 1.4%. The trade balance was 1,236.6 billion yuan in surplus, up by 41.6% year on year.

The import and export of general trade increased by 5.5 percent, accounting for 59.9% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 0.9 percentage point compared with the same period last year.

The exports of mechanical and electrical products increased by 5.3 percent, accounting for 58.2% of the total value of exports. The total value of imports and exports by private enterprises increased by 11.0 percent, accounting for 41.7% of the total value, 2.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

In June, the total value of imports and exports was 2,561.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. The total value of exports was 1,453.5 billion yuan, up by 6.1 percent, and the total value of imports was 1,108.3 billion yuan, down by 0.4%.

In the first half, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 5,836.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. In June, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above the designated size reached 1,055.5 billion yuan, up by 1.9 percent, 1.2 percentage points faster than that of May.

Consumer Price

In the first half, the consumer price went up by 2.2% year on year, 0.4 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Specifically, the price went up by 2.2% both in the urban and rural areas. Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco and alcohol went up by 3.9% year on year; clothing up by 1.8%; housing up by 2.0%; articles and services for daily use up by 1.1%; transportation and communication down by 1.0%; education, culture and recreation up by 2.5%; medical services and health care up by 2.6%; other articles and services up by 2.2%.

In terms of food, tobacco and alcohol prices, prices for grain went up by 0.5 percent, pork up by 7.7 percent, fresh vegetables up by 9.2%. Core CPI excluding the price of food and energy went up by 1.8% year on year, 0.1 percentage point lower than that of the first quarter.

In June, the consumer price went up by 2.7% year on year, increasing at the same speed as last month, and down by 0.1% month on month.

In the first half of 2019, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 0.3% year on year, 0.1 percentage point faster than the first quarter. In June, the producer prices for industrial products were unchanged compared with the same period last year, down by 0.3 percentage month on month.

In the first half, the purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 0.1% year on year, increasing at the same speed as the first quarter. In June, the prices dropped by 0.3% year on year and down by 0.1% month on month.

Employment

In the first half, the newly increased employed people in urban areas totaled 7.37 million, accounting for 67% of the whole-year target. In June, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 5.1 percent, 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month.

Specifically, the surveyed unemployment rate of the population aged from 25 to 59 was 4.6 percent, 0.5 percentage point lower than that of the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas. The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 5.0 percent, the same as the previous month.

In June, the employees of enterprises worked averagely 45.7 hours per week. At the end of the second quarter, the number of rural migrant workers reached 182.48 million, an increase of 2.26 million over the same period last year, up by 1.3 percent, and 0.1 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

Residents Income Grew Faster than Economic Growth and Urban-Rural Income Ratio Continued to Narrow Down.

In the first half, the nationwide per capita disposable income of residents was 15,294 yuan, a nominal growth of 8.8% year on year, 0.1 percentage point faster than that of the first quarter; the real increase was 6.5% after deducting price factors, 0.2 percentage point higher than the economic growth.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 21,342 yuan, real growth of 5.7%. The per capita disposable income of rural households was 7,778 yuan, real growth of 6.6%.

The per capita disposable income of urban households was 2.74 times of the rural households, 0.03 less than that of the same period last year. The median of the nationwide per capita disposable income was 13,281 yuan, a nominal increase of 9.0% year-on-year.

Views from Global Media

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Total retail sales of consumer goods in China increased to US$1,457 billion in Q1 2019 and roughly 85.3% came from urban areas. Online retail sales of goods and services totaled US$333.45bn, representing 22.9% of the total.

In March 2019, retail sales of consumer goods grew by 8.7% year-on-year to 3,172.6 billion yuan (US$472.73bn).

• About 85.7% of that came from urban areas (2,719.2 billion yuan, up 8.5%), and 14.3% from rural areas (453.4 billion yuan, up 9.4%).
• Grouped by consumption patterns, around 10.7% were from the catering services (339.3 billion yuan, up 9.5%) and 89.3% from retail sales of goods (2,833.3 billion yuan, up 8.6%)

China Retail Overview in Q1 2019

In China, retail sales of consumer goods totaled 9,779 billion yuan (US$1,457.10bn) for Q1 2019, up 8.3% from the prior year period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

• About 85.3% came from urban areas (8,340.2 billion yuan, up 8.2%) and over 14.7% from rural areas (1,438.8 billion yuan, up 9.2%).
• Grouped by consumption patterns, around 10.9% were from the catering services (1,064.4 billion yuan, up 9.6%) and 89.1% from retail sales of goods (8,714.6 billion yuan, up 8.2%)

Of the total retail sale, the supermarket, department store, and specialty store of units above-designated size went up by 7.5%, 0.9%, and 3.9% year-on-year, respectively; the exclusive shop of units above designated size declined by 0.9% year-on-year.

Online retail sales of goods and services in China amounted to 2,237.9 billion yuan (US$333.45bn) (around 22.9% of the total), increased by 15.3% year-on-year.

Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods reached 1,777.2 billion yuan (US$264.81bn) with an increase of 21%, accounting for 18.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. Food, clothing, and other commodities went up by 24.6%, 19.1%, and 21.3%, respectively.

E-commerce companies investment in retail: China vs. the U.S.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) issued a warning that China’s population could start to shrink as soon as 2027 if its fertility rate remains at the current level of about 1.6. According to Singapore media Channel NewsAsia, China’s population is set to reach a peak of 1.442 billion in 2029 and start a long period of “unstoppable” decline in 2030.

In 2018, the number of births was 15.23 million with a birth rate of 10.94 per thousand. The number of deaths was 9.93 million with a death rate of 7.13 per thousand. The natural growth rate was 3.81 per thousand.

Regarding gender, the male population was 713.51 million, and the female population was 681.87 million. The sex ratio of the total population was 104.64 (the female is 100).

Concerning age composition, the population at the working age of 16-59 was 897.29 million, accounting for 64.3% of the total population. People aged 60 and over was 249.49 million, accounting for 17.9% of the total, 166.58 million of which aged 65 and over, accounting for 11.9% of the total.

Concerning urban-rural structure, the permanent residents in urban areas were 831.37 million, an increase of 17.90 million over that at the end of last year; and the permanent residents in rural areas were 564.01 million, a decrease of 12.60 million.

The proportion of the urban population to the total population (urbanization rate) was 59.58%, 1.06 percentage points higher than that at the end of 2017.

The population who reside in areas other than their household registration and have been away from there for over six months reached 286 million, which was 4.50 million less than that at the end of 2017. Specifically, the floating population stood at 241 million, 3.78 million less than that at the end of 2017.

Insights of China internet users in lower-tier cities

In the whole year of 2018, the total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 38,098.7 billion yuan (US$5,620.13 billion), up by 9.0% year-on-year (nominal growth rate), according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Of the total. The retail sales of consumer goods of units above-designated size reached 14,531.1 billion yuan (US$2,143.55 billion), with an increase of 5.7%. 

In December 2018, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,589.3 billion yuan (US$529.48 billion) in China, up by 8.2% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point more than that of November. Of the total, the retail sales of consumer goods of units above-designated size reached 1,508.4 billion yuan (US$222.51 billion), increased by 2.4%.

In terms of different areas, from January to December 2018, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 32,563.7 billion yuan (US$4,803.63), up by 8.8% year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 5,535.0billion yuan (US$816.5 billion), up by 10.1%.

In December, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 3,032.9 billion yuan (US$447.4 billion), up by 8.0% year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 556.5 billion yuan (US$82.09 billion), up by 9.3% year-on-year.

In terms of different consumption patterns, the catering services generated a total of 4,271.6 billion yuan (US$630.13 billion) in 2018, up by 9.5% year-on-year. The retail sales of goods were 33,827.1 billion yuan (US$4,990.0 billion), increased by 8.9%. In December, the catering services generated 442.2 billion yuan (US$65.23), up by 9.0% year-on-year. The retail sales of goods were 3,147.2 billion yuan (US$464.26 billion), an increase of 8.0% year-on-year.

The income of retail sales of goods of the enterprises (units) above designated size totaled 13,607.5 billion yuan (US$2,007.31 billion) in 2018, up by 5.7% year-on-year. In December, it was 1,417.5 billion yuan (US$209.10 billion), up by 2.2% year-on-year.

In 2018, the online retail sales of goods and services totaled 9,006.5 billion yuan (US$1,328.59 billion), up by 23.9% year-on-year. The online retail sales of physical goods were 7,019.8 billion yuan (US$1,035.53 billion) with an increase of 25.4%, accounting for 18.4% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. Of the online retail sales of physical goods, food, clothing, and other commodities went up by 33.8%, 22.0%, and 25.9%, respectively.

In 2018, of the total retail sale, the supermarket, store, pro shop, and exclusive shop of units above designated size went up by 6.8%, 3.2%, 6.2%, and 1.8% respectively.

China retail trend 2019; to hit US$6.77 trillion, fueled by e-commerce and new retail

The gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 65,089.9 billion yuan (US$9,368.51 bn) in the first three quarters of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 6.7% at comparable prices, according to the preliminary estimates of National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Specifically, the year-on-year growth was 6.8% for Q1 2018, 6.7% for Q2 2018, and 6.5% for Q3 2018. The value added of the primary industry was 4,217.3 billion yuan (US$607 bn), up by 3.4% year-on-year; the secondary industry 26,295.3 billion yuan (US$3,784.73 bn), up by 5.8%; and the tertiary industry 34,577.3 billion yuan (US$4,976.78 bn), up by 7.7%.

Agricultural Production was Sound

The output of summer crops was 138.72 million tons, a decrease of 3.06 million tons or 2.2% less over last year, and that of the early rice was 28.59 million tons, a decrease of 1.28 million tons or 4.3% less over last year.

In the first three quarters, the output of pork, beef, and mutton was 60.07 million tons, up by 0.2% year-on-year, among them, the output of pork was 38.43 million tons, up by 0.3%. There were 428.87 million pigs registered, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%; and 495.79 million pigs were slaughtered, a year-on-year increase of 0.1%.

The Industrial Production was Generally Stable

In the first three quarters of 2018, the real growth of the total value added of the industrial enterprises above designated size was 6.4% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage point slower than H1 2018.

From the perspective of ownership types, the value added of the state holding enterprises went up by 7.0% year-on-year; collective enterprises down by 1.4%; share-holding enterprises up by 6.6%; and enterprises funded by foreign investors or investors from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan up by 5.7%.

In terms of sectors, the value added of the mining increased by 1.8% on a year-on-year basis, the manufacturing grew by 6.7%, and the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas, and water grew by 10.3%.

In September, the value added of the industrial enterprises above designated size grew by 5.8% year-on-year.

In the first three quarters, the Index of Services Production increased by 7.8% year-on-year, 0.2 percentage point slower than H1 2018. Specifically, information transmission, software, and information technology services grew by 37.5% year-on-year; leasing and business services grew by 10.8% year-on-year.

In September, the Index of Services Production increased by 7.3% year-on-year.

In the first eight months, the total profits registered by industrial enterprises above the designated size were 4,424.9 billion yuan (US$636.88 bn), up by 16.2% year-on-year. The profit rate from the principal businesses of industrial enterprises above the designated size was 6.43%, 0.35 percentage point higher than that of the same period last year.

From January to August, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size grew by 12.0% year-on-year, and the profits for service enterprises above the designated size grew by 15.5% year-on-year.

Growth of Residents’ Consumption was Accelerated

In the first three quarters, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 27,429.9 billion yuan (US$3,948.04 bn), a year-on-year rise of 9.3%, 0.1 percentage point slower than H1 2018. In terms of areas, the retail sales in urban areas reached 23,471.7 billion yuan (US$3,378.33 bn), up by 9.1%, and the retail sales in rural areas were 3,958.2 billion yuan (US$569.71 bn), up by 10.4%.

Grouped by consumption patterns, the income of the catering was 2,976.3 billion yuan, up by 9.8% year-on-year; and the retail sales of goods were 24,453.6 billion yuan, up by 9.2%.

The sales of upgraded consumer goods witnessed fast growth. Among the retail sales of enterprises above designated size, the retail sales of petroleum and related products, as well as communication appliances increased by 14.4% and 10.7% year-on-year, or 5.4 percentage points and 1.4 percentage points faster than the same period last year.

In September, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 9.2% year-on-year, 0.2 percentage point faster than August.

In the first three quarters, the national per capita consumption expenditure of residents was 14,281 yuan (US$2,055.49), a nominal year-on-year growth of 8.5%, 1.0 percentage point faster than the same period last year, or a real growth of 6.3% after price adjustment, 0.4 percentage point faster.

Specifically, the nominal growth of per capita consumption expenditure of urban households increased by 6.5%, 0.3 percentage point faster than the same period last year; the nominal growth of per capita consumption expenditure of rural households increased by 12.0%, 3.4 percentage points faster.

Private Investment and the Investment in Manufacturing Accelerated

In the first three quarters, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) was 48,344.2 billion yuan (US$6,958.27 bn), a year-on-year growth of 5.4%, 0.6 percentage point less than the first six months, and 0.1 percentage point faster than the first eight months.

Specifically, private investment reached 30,166.4 billion yuan (US$4,341.91 bn), up by 8.7% year-on-year, 0.3 percentage point faster than H1 2018, or 2.7 percentage points faster than the same period last year.

The investment in the primary industry was up by 11.7%; the secondary industry grew by 5.2%, among which the investment in manufacturing was up by 8.7%, 1.9 percentage points faster than H1 2018, achieving a faster growth for the sixth consecutive month; the tertiary industry went up by 5.3%, among which the investment in infrastructure increased by 3.3%.

In the first three quarters, the total investment in real estate development was 8,866.5 billion yuan (US$1,276.17 bn), a year-on-year growth of 9.9%. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,193.13 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. The total sales of commercial buildings were 10,413.2 billion yuan (US$1,498.79 bn), a growth of 13.3% year-on-year.

Growth of Export Speeded up

In the first three quarters, the total value of imports and exports of goods was 22,283.9 billion yuan (US$3,207.36 bn), an increase of 9.9% year-on-year, 2.1 percentage points faster than H1 2018.

Specifically, the value of exports totaled 11,858.5 billion yuan (US$1,706.82 bn), up by 6.5%, 1.8 percentage points faster than H1 2018; the value of imports totaled was 10,425.4 billion yuan (US$1,500.55 bn), an increase of 14.1% year-on-year, 2.5 percentage points faster than H1 2018.

The trade balance was 1,433.1 billion yuan (US$206.27 bn) in surplus, down by 28.3% than the same period last year. The imports and exports with major trading partners increased. The imports and exports with the European Union, the United States, and ASEAN went up by 7.3%, 6.5%, and 12.6%, respectively.

And the imports and exports with some countries along the “Belt and Road” demonstrated growing momentum. The imports and exports with Russia, Poland, and Kazakhstan went up by 19.4%, 11.9%, and 11.8%, respectively.

In September, the total value of imports and exports was 2,885.2 billion yuan (US$415.27 bn), a year-on-year increase of 17.2%. Among that, the total value of exports was 1,549.2 billion yuan (US$222.98 bn), up by 17.0%, and the total value of imports was 1,336.0 billion yuan (US$192.29 bn), up by 17.4%.

In the first three quarters, the export delivery value of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 8,972.9 billion yuan (US$1,291.49 bn), a year-on-year increase of 8.1%.

In September, the export delivery value of the industrial enterprises above designated size reached 1,183.9 billion yuan (US$170.40 bn), a year-on-year increase of 11.7%.

Consumer Price Grew Mildly and the Growth of Prices for Industrial Products was Stable.

In the first three quarters, the consumer price went up by 2.1% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point higher than H1 2018.

Grouped by commodity categories, prices for food, tobacco, and alcohol went up by 1.6% year-on-year; clothing up by 1.2%; housing up by 2.4%; articles and services for daily use up by 1.6%; transport and communication up by 1.7%; education, culture, and recreation up by 2.2%; medical services and health care up by 5.0%; other articles and services up by 1.1%.

In September, the consumer price was up by 2.5% year-on-year, 0.2 percentage point higher than last month, and up by 0.7% month-on-month.

In the first three quarters, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 4.0% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage point higher than H1 2018. The purchasing prices for industrial producers went up by 4.5% year-on-year.

In September, the producer prices for industrial products went up by 3.6% year-on-year, 0.5 percentage point less than last month, up by 0.6% month-on-month; and the purchasing prices for industrial producers were up by 4.2% year-on-year, or up by 0.6% month-on-month.

The Surveyed Unemployment Rate Dropped and the Employment Situation was Generally Stable

In September, the surveyed unemployment rate in urban areas was 4.9%, 0.1 percentage point less than last month, or 0.1 percentage point less over the same month last year.

The urban surveyed unemployment rate in 31 major cities was 4.7%, 0.2 percentage point less than last month and 0.1 percentage point less than the same month last year. Specifically, the surveyed unemployed rate of major labor force aged from 25 to 59 was 4.3%, which was the same as last month.

By the end of Q3 2018, the number of rural migrant workers reached 181.35 million, 1.66 million more than the same period last year, an increase of 0.9% year-on-year. The average monthly income of rural migrant workers was 3,710 yuan (US$533.99), an increase of 7.3% year-on-year.

Resident Income Grew Synchronized with the National Economy

In the first three quarters, the national per capita disposable income was 21,035 yuan (US$3,027.61), a nominal increase of 8.8% year-on-year, or a real increase of 6.6% after price adjustment; the growth rate was the same as H1 2018, which is almost same as that of the national economy.

In terms of permanent residence, the per capita disposable income of urban households was 29,599 yuan (US$4,260.24), a nominal increase of 7.9% year-on-year, or a real increase of 5.7% after price adjustment.

The per capita disposable income of rural households was 10,645 yuan (US$1,532.16), a nominal increase of 8.9% year-on-year, or a real increase of 6.8% after price adjustment. The per capita income of urban households was 2.78 times that of rural households, 0.03 less than the same period last year. The median of the national per capita disposable income was 18,236 yuan (US$2,624.74), a nominal increase of 8.7% year-on-year.

Economic Structure Continued to be Optimized and the Economy was more Consumption-based.

Industries continued to be upgraded. In the first three quarters, the growth rate of the value added of the tertiary industry was 1.9 percentage points higher than that of the secondary industry, accounting for 53.1% of the GDP, which was 0.3 percentage point higher than the same period last year and 12.7 percentage points higher than that of the secondary industry.

The role of consumption as the basic economic function was further solidified. In the first three quarters, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth was 78.0%, 46.2 percentage points higher than the total capital formation.

The consumption expenditure on services continued to represent a larger share. In the third quarter, the consumption expenditure on services accounted for 52.6% of the national consumption expenditure of households, 0.2 percentage point higher than the same period last year.

The investment structure continued to be optimized. In the first three quarters, the investment in the high-tech manufacturing industry grew by 14.9% year-on-year, 9.5 percentage points higher than the total investment.

The trade structure was further improved. In the first three quarters, import and export of general trade increased by 13.5%, accounting for 58.4% of the total value of the imports and exports, an increase of 1.9 percentage points compared with the same period last year. The export of mechanical and electronic products grew by 7.8%, accounting for 58.3% of the total value of exports.

Growth of New Driving Forces was Accelerated

The capacity utilization rate maintained stably. In the first three quarters, the industrial capacity utilization rate nationwide was 76.6%, maintaining the same level as compared with the same period last year.

In Q3 2018, the capacity utilization rate of smelting and pressing of ferrous metals, as well as mining and washing of coals were 78.7% and 70.1%, respectively, or 2.0 and 1.1 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

The corporate cost and leverage ratio decreased. In the first eight months, the cost for per-hundred-yuan turnover of principal business of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 84.39 yuan, 0.35 yuan less than the same period last year.

By the end of August, the asset-liability ratio of the industrial enterprises above the designated size was 56.6%, 0.5 percentage point lower than the same period last year.

The inventory of commercial buildings continued to decrease. By the end of September, the floor space of commercial buildings for sale has dropped by 13.0% year-on-year.

More efforts were taken to improving weak links of key fields. In the first three quarters, the investment in the management of environmental protection and treatment of environmental pollution and the investment in agriculture increased by 33.7% and 12.4% year-on-year, respectively, or 28.3 percentage points and 7.0 percentage points faster than the total investment.

The progress of green development was achieved steadily. In the first three quarters, the energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 3.1% year-on-year.

New industries grew fast. In the first three quarters, the value added of high-tech industries and equipment manufacturing increased by 11.8% and 8.6% year-on-year, 5.4 and 2.2 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.

The value added of industrial strategic and emerging industries went up by 8.8% year on year, 2.4 percentage points faster than that of the industrial enterprises above the designated size.

New products grew rapidly. In the first three quarters, the production of new energy vehicles was up by 54.8% year-on-year, and integrated circuits up by 11.7%.

New types of business were booming. In the first three quarters, the online retail sales reached 6,278.5 billion yuan (US$903.68 bn), a year-on-year growth of 27.0%. Specifically, the online retail sales of physical goods were 4,793.8 billion yuan (US$689.98 bn), a year-on-year growth of 27.7%, accounting for 17.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods; the online retail sales of non-physical goods was 1,484.7 billion yuan (US$213.69 bn), an increase of 24.8%.

In September 2018, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3,200.5 billion yuan (US$461.81 bn) in China, up by 9.2% year-on-year (nominal growth rate), according to National Bureau of Statistics of China. The retail sales of consumer goods of units above-designated size reached 1,276.2 billion yuan (US$184.15 bn), increased by 5.7%.

From January to September 2018, the total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 27,429.9 billion yuan (US$3,957.98 bn), up by 9.3% year-on-year. The retail sales of consumer goods of units above-designated size reached 10,479.2 billion yuan (US$1,512.09 bn), increased by 6.9%.

The retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 2,706.9 billion yuan (US$390.59 bn) in September, up by 9.0% year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 493.6 billion yuan (US$71.22 bn), up by 10.5% year-on-year.

From January to September 2018, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 23,471.7 billion yuan (US$3,386.83 bn), up by 9.1% year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 3,958.2 billion yuan (US$571.15 bn), up by 10.4%.

In terms of different consumption patterns, the catering services in September generated 344.7 billion yuan (US$49.74 bn), up by 9.4%, year-on-year. The retail sales of goods were 2,855.8 billion yuan (US$412.08 bn), an increase of 9.2% year-on-year.

From January to September, the catering services generated 2,976.3 billion yuan (US$429.46 bn), up by 9.8% year-on-year. The retail sales of goods were 24,453.6 billion yuan (US$3,528.52 bn), increased by 9.2%.

The income of retail sales of goods of the enterprises (units) above designated size was 1,196.2 billion yuan (US$172.61 bn), up by 5.6% year-on-year. From January to September, it totaled 9,809.9 billion yuan (US$1,415.51 bn), up by 6.9% year-on-year.

From January to September 2018, the online retail sales of goods and services in China totaled 6,278.5 billion yuan (US$905.95 bn),  up by 27.0% year-on-year.

Among that, the online retail sales of physical goods were 4,793.8 billion yuan (US$691.72 bn) with an increase of 27.7%, accounting for 17.5% of the total retail sales of consumer goods; food, clothing, and other commodities went up by 43.8%, 23.3%, and 27.7%, respectively.

From January to September, among the retail sales of goods of the enterprises (units) above designated size, supermarket, department store, professional shop, and specialty store went up by 7.3%, 4.6%, 8.6%, and 4.4%, respectively.

The transactions of the online retail market in China totaled US$593.18 bn in H1 2018, representing 22.7% of total retail sales. Meanwhile, the mobile shopping market in China saw US$397.83 trillion transactions. Tmall, Jingdong, and Pinduoduo led the B2C online retail market.

Total transactions of the online retail market in China was 4,081 billion yuan (US$593.18 bn), an increase of 30.1% year-on-year, accounting for 22.7% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

There are 568.92 million online shoppers in China in H1 2018. The transactions of mobile shopping grew by 22% to 2,737 billion yuan (US$397.83 bn), which was 2,245 billion yuan in H1 2017.

Online retail sales in the rural area totaled 632.28 billion yuan (US$90.91 bn) in H1 2018, a 44% increase year-on-year compared with 440.2 billion yuan in H1 2017.

The gross merchandise volume of the online retail B2C market expected to be 5283.23 billion yuan (US$767.92 bn) by the end of 2018.

Tmall continues to lead the market with a share of 55%, a 5% increase year-on-year. Jingdong (JD.com) took the second position with a share of 25.2%, increased by 0.8% year-on-year. Pindduoduo and Suning took the next two positions with a share of 5.7% and 4.5%, respectively.

Continue to read articles on cross-border e-commerce, B2B, and mobile e-commerce.

Related CIW Dossier: Retail E-Commerce (updated on 2 Oct 2018)

As of July 2017, there were 751 million internet users in China, a figure which increased by 19.92 million in the first half of this year. The proportion of internet users as a part of the total population has reached 54.3%, 1.1 percentage points higher than in 2016.

The number of mobile internet users in China rose by 28.3 million to reach 724 million at the end of the first half of 2017; mobile internet users also accounted for 96.3% of internet users (non-exclusive), up from 95.1% at the end of 2016.

The gender of internet users in China is nearly identical to the split in the population at large; 52.4% of internet users are male (vs. 51.2% of the general population) and 47.6% are female (48.8% of the general population).

Internet users are also generally younger than the populace as a whole. 72.1% of internet users are between the ages of 10 and 39. Among users aged 40 and over, penetration rates increased by 1.7 percentage points over the first half of 2017.

Incomes among internet users were concentrated among the 2001-3000 yuan/month (US$300-450 /month) and 3001-5000 yuan/month (US$451-750/month) ranges, with the former accounting for 15.8% of users.

Download the details in the updated China Internet Insights report here.

Online retail sales in China’s rural areas in H1 2017 achieved 537.62 billion yuan (US$79.9 billion), including 328.64 billion yuan (US$48.8 billion) for service retail sales and 208.98 billion yuan(US$31.1 billion ) for physical goods retail sales.

Rural e-commerce of China in H1 2017 presents the following characteristics:

1. Rural retail continues to maintain rapid growth. Online retail sales in rural areas grew 38.1% YoY in H1 2017, which is 4.9 percent higher than the city.

The proportion of rural retail sales in the whole country accounted for 17.3%. Rural e-commerce shows to maintain an accelerated growth in the quarterly trend, for online retail sales grew by 39.2% in Q2, 2.4 percent higher than Q1.

2. Rural online travel and catering are growing rapidly, which contributes to the high-speed growth of service type retail sales.

Service type online retail sales grew up to 44.4% YoY, 10.1 percent higher than physical type online retail sales, for which is 34.3%. Service type takes 38.9% of the whole online retail sales, 1.7 percent higher than last year.

Service type sales lead rural online retail sales reached 16.5 percentage points. In the service industry, online travel, entertainment, online catering are leading the development of service type e-commerce, with retail sales of 84.19, 8.17, 68.95 billion yuan(US$12.55B, US$1.22B, US$10.27B) and growth of 61.6%, 58.3%, 56.6% respectively, of which online travel grows as 23.4 percentage points higher than the whole country, significantly more than the national level of development.

Online travel and catering led rural online retail sales to 8.2 and 6.4 percentage points, becoming the largest contribution to the growth among all 19 industries.

3. Food health leads the development of rural physical goods type e-commerce, and remarkable results have been achieved in agricultural and their processed products.

Food health industry which covers most of the agricultural and the processed products reached an amount of retail sales of 42.08 billion yuan (US$6.26 billion) in H1 2017, with a high-speed growth of 62.0%, that is 20.2 percentage points higher than the industry’s average increasing speed in the country and 27.7 percentage points higher than the growth of the physical goods type online retail sales.

It led the rural online retail sales to a growth of 4.1%, which contributes the most to the physical goods type industry. Industries of beauty care, books&videos and outdoor sports maintain growth over 50%, their growth rates achieved 105.2%, 54.5% and 53.3% YoY, which are 83.5, 65.5, 36.3 percentage points higher than their industries of the country.

Food health rates as the fourth of the growing speed, following by mom&baby and 3C digital which kept a growth rate of over 40%.

4. Midwest and northeast rural e-commerce maintain high-speed growth trend, and the eastern area is showing obvious advantages as always. The retail sales achieved 341.86, 107.95, 75.96, 11.84 billion yuan(US$50.86B, US$16.06B, US$11.3B, US$1.76B) for the eastern, middle, western and northeastern areas of China in H1 2017, with growths of 30.6%, 46.4%, 63.1%, 60.8% YoY.

In the midwest and northeast rural areas, the total online retail sales amount is 195.76 billion yuan(US$29.13 billion), and the growth rate is as high as 53.3%, which is 22.7 percent higher than the east rural area and covers as 36.4% of all rural online retail sales, 3.6 percentage points higher than last year.

For service type online retail sales, the amount of midwest and northeast areas achieves 92.5 billion yuan(US$13.76 billion), with a growth rate of 71.2%, which is 31 percentage points higher than the physical goods type and covers as 47.3% of all online retail sales, 4.9 percentage points higher than last year.

The retail sales achieved 341.86, 107.95, 75.96, 11.84 billion yuan(US$50.86B, US$16.06B, US$11.3B, US$1.76B) for the eastern, middle, western and northeastern areas of China in H1 2017, with growths of 30.6%, 46.4%, 63.1%, 60.8% YoY. In the Midwest and northeast rural areas, the total online retail sales amount is 195.76 billion yuan(US$29.13 billion), and the growth rate is as high as 53.3%, which is 22.7 percent higher than the east rural area and covers as 36.4% of all rural online retail sales, 3.6 percentage points higher than last year.

From the industry distribution, leading by agricultural and the processed products, travel and catering e-commerce, the development of different rural areas shows their own characteristics. Food health contributes the most to the growth of online retail sales in northeast, western and middle areas, with rates of 25.7%, 23.2%, and 11.5%.

Clothing, shoes & bags led online retail sales development with a growth rate of 16% in the eastern rural area. Online travel contributes the most to the service type industry in western, middle and eastern areas with growth rates of 36.5%, 24.7%, and 15.8% respectively.

Online catering rates the fourth with over 10% of the rate. Besides, beauty care, 3C digital of the eastern rural area, mom&baby, 3C digital of the middle rural area, home furnishings, clothing, shoes&bags of the western rural areas and clothing, shoes & bags and outdoor sports are all making great contributions to their online retail sales growth.

5. The 618 campaign promotes obvious improvement in rural areas, but there is still a big gap compared with the city.

During the 618 period from 1st June to 18th June, the rural online retail sales kept a high-speed development trend with a rate of 62.7%, which is 24.2 percentage points higher than May, but still 8.3 percentage points lower than the city.

It shows that during the shopping campaign in rural areas, the pressure of logistics warehousing response and centralized large-scale customer service, the ability of similar products and brand supply and competition and large data precision marketing, and related personnel training and so on are to be improved.

During 618 period, a number of online retail sales in the western rural area reached a top growth rate of 91.5%, and the growth rates for the northeast, middle and eastern areas are 78.4%, 69.3%, and 56.7%. Food health of midwest and northeast areas, clothing, shoes&bags of eastern areas contributed the most to their online retail sales of all industries.

6. E-commerce accesses to the rural comprehensive demonstration counties and becomes the leading vanguard of the development of rural e-commerce, e-commerce shows the obvious effect to the rural poverty alleviation.

In H1 2017, 496 rural comprehensive demonstration counties with e-commerce achieved online retail sales of 169.94 billion yuan(US$25.29 billion), with a growth rate of 45.4% YoY and 7.3 percentage points higher than the average growth rate.

Demonstration counties with less than a quarter of the number of the counties contributed about one third of the rural online retail sales. 93.2% of the demonstration counties locate at Midwest areas and 52.6% are state level poverty stricken counties.

The online retail sales of physical goods type and service type of demonstration counties in H1 are 98 billion yuan(US$14.58 billion) and 71.94 billion yuan(US$10.71 billion), with growth rates of 41.5% and 51.0% YoY. During 618 campaign, the retail sales grew 87% YoY with 24.3 percentage points higher than the rural areas, which shows that their ability of products and brand competition and marketing are obviously improving.

832 state level poverty stricken counties achieved online retail sales of 53.28 billion yuan (US$7.93 billion) in the first half of 2017, with a growth rate of 60.1% which is 22.1 percentage points higher than the rural average.

261 of the demonstration counties achieved a sales of 34.34 billion yuan(US$5.11 billion), with 67.7% YoY and the average sales amount is 130 million yuan(US$19.35 million), 2.2 times that of the average online retail sales of the state level poverty stricken counties, which is 60 million yuan (US$8.93 million).

In June 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 2,980.8 billion yuan (US$439.37 billion), up by 11.0% year-on-year (nominal growth rate. The real growth rate was 10.0%). Of the total, the retail sales of consumer goods of units above designated size was 1,422.2 billion yuan, increased 10.2%.

From January to June 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 17,236.9 billion yuan (US$2,540.74 billion), up by 10.4% year-on-year. Of the total, the retail sales of consumer goods of units above designated size were 7,695.3 billion yuan, increased 8.7%.

The retail sales of consumer goods in China’s urban areas was 2,554.5 billion yuan, up by 10.7%, year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 426.3 billion yuan, up by 12.9%, year-on-year. From January to June, the retail sales of consumer goods in China’s urban areas was 14,778.6 billion yuan up by 10.1%, year-on-year; while that in rural areas was 2,458.3 billion yuan, up by 12.3%, year-on-year.

The catering services in June, gained 325.4 billion yuan, up by 11.9%, year-on-year. The retail sales of goods gained 2,655.4 billion yuan, up by 10.9%. In the first six months of 2017, the catering services gained 1,854.6 billion yuan, up by 11.2%, year-on-year. The retail sales of goods gained 15,382.2 billion yuan, up by 10.3%.

In the first six months of 2017, China’s national online retail sales of goods and services was 3,107.3 billion yuan, increased 33.4% year-on-year and accounting for over 18% of total retail sales.

The online retail sales of physical goods were 2,374.7 billion yuan, increased 28.6%, accounting for 13.8% of the total retail sales of consumer goods; Of the online retail sales of physical goods, food, clothing and other commodities went up by 25.1%, 20.8%, and 31.8% respectively.

In the first six months of 2017, of the total retail sale, the supermarket, store, pro shop and exclusive shop of units above designated size went up by 6.3%, 5.8%, 10.0% and 7.4% respectively.

China retail industry development report 2016-2017

The “Alibaba economy” could generate about 122 million of the 415 million total jobs available in China’s digital economy or 29.4% of all the jobs in 2035 from today’s 31 million jobs according to BCG.

If Alibaba’s emerging businesses, such as cloud computing and digital entertainment, play a strong future role as well, we can expect another 10 million jobs by 2035—for a total of 122 million jobs.

said BCG.

Currently about 15,000 “Tao Factories” offers smaller-quantity manufacturing to Taobao sellers; 1,300 “Taobao Villages”, centers of e-commerce in China’s rural areas, brings new job opportunities to farmers. And, Alibaba Cloud or Aliyun, has generated 1.2 million jobs at Chinese startups according to BCG.

The digital economy made up 13% of China’s total economy in 2015, accounting for $1.4 trillion in spending; and, it’s going to grow to 48% of the total economy in 2035, accounting for $16 trillion.

Continue to read → Whitepaper: China Internet Statistics 2017

The total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 3,175.7 billion yuan in December 2016, up by 10.9% yoy (nominal growth rate. The real growth rate was 9.2%) according to National Bureau of Statistics of China.

The retail sales of consumer goods in China’s urban areas was 2,723.3 billion yuan in December, up by 10.9% yoy; that in rural areas was 452.4 billion yuan, up by 11.2% yoy. In 2016,

In 2016, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached 33,231.6 billion yuan, up by 10.4% yoy. The retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 28,581.4 billion yuan, up by 10.4% yoy; that in rural areas was 4,650.3 billion yuan, up by 10.9%.

Related: Alibaba retail marketplaces saw 443 mn active buyers in 2016

In 2016, the national online retail sales of goods and services in China was 5,155.6 billion yuan, increased by 26.2% yoy. The online retail sales of physical goods were 4,194.4 billion yuan, increased 25.6%, accounting for 12.6% of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

Of the online retail sales, physical goods, food, clothing and other commodities went up by 28.5%, 18.1%, and 28.8% respectively.

Continue reading: What are consumers buying for Chinese New Year 2017?]