China's consumption market expands with 4 pct growth in retail sales in first 11 months

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) - China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 4 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, totaling 45.61 trillion yuan (about 6.45 trillion U.S. dollars) during the period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.

During the period, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas rose 3.9 percent year on year, while those in rural areas climbed 4.4 percent year on year, the data showed.

People shop at a supermarket in Shijingshan District in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)

From January to November, online retail sales of goods grew at a faster pace, rising 5.7 percent year on year to almost 11.82 trillion yuan, accounting for more than one quarter of the nation's total retail sales of consumer goods, the data showed.

In November alone, retail sales of consumer goods went up 1.3 percent year on year.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Friday, NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said that the scale of China's market sales expanded further in November, with growth in service retail sales gaining momentum.

In the first 11 months of 2025, service retail grew 5.4 percent year on year, with the growth rate up by 0.1 percentage points compared to the January-October period, the data showed.

Fu added that service retail categories such as culture and sports, as well as telecommunication and information, both registered double-digit sales growth.

According to the NBS spokesperson, China has implemented more proactive and effective macro policies this year, rolling out a series of measures to expand domestic demand, promote industrial upgrading, and stimulate economic activity, all of which have played an important role in supporting the stable operation of the economy.

This has been reflected in rising consumption demand, particularly in the sales of home appliances and telecommunications equipment, driven by the country's consumer goods trade-in programs, Fu noted.