China National Commercial Information Center: The retail sales growth rate of most upgraded goods accelerated in October.

On November 19, the China National Commercial Information Center issued a document stating that in October, the growth rate of retail sales of most upgraded goods accelerated. Among them, the retail sales of cosmetics of unit-selling above limits increased by a substantial 40.1% year-on-year, the highest growth rate for this category since April 2021; the retail sales of sports and entertainment goods increased by 26.7% year-on-year, an increase of 20.5 percentage points from the previous month; the retail sales of communication equipment increased by 14.4% year-on-year, an increase of 2.1 percentage points from the previous month; the retail sales of clothing, shoes, hats, and textiles increased by 8% year-on-year, an increase of 8.4 percentage points from the previous month. With the further implementation of policies to stimulate consumption and boost domestic demand through the replacement of old for new consumer goods, an increase in traffic during the "Golden Week" of the National Day holiday, and the overlapping promotional effects of the "longest ever" "Double Eleven" online shopping event, the consumer goods market has shown a continuous improvement in growth. In October, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4539.6 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8% year-on-year, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from September, and an increase of 2.7 percentage points from August. From January to October, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 39.896 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous three quarters. The growth rates of both urban and rural consumer goods markets have accelerated. In October, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 3925.5 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7% year-on-year, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the previous month; while the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas reached 614.1 billion yuan, an increase of 4.9% year-on-year, an increase of 1 percentage point from the previous month. From January to October, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 3451.24 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 3.4% year-on-year, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous three quarters; while the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas reached 538.36 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 4.4% year-on-year, which was basically in line with the previous three quarters. Online retail sales of physical goods achieved double-digit growth. In October, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by a substantial 11.3% year-on-year, an increase of 4.9 percentage points from the previous month. From January to October, the online retail sales of physical goods reached 10.33 trillion yuan, a cumulative increase of 8.3% year-on-year, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous three quarters, accounting for 25.9% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous three quarters. In the online retail sales of physical goods, the categories of food, clothing, and household goods increased by 17.7%, 4.7%, and 7.7% respectively. The growth rate of offline retail sales continues to improve. According to estimates, in October, offline retail sales of goods increased by 2.4% year-on-year, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, marking the third consecutive month of acceleration in growth. From January to October, offline retail sales of goods increased by 1.2% year-on-year, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous three quarters. In terms of retail formats, the retail sales of convenience stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets in units above set limits increased by 4.7%, 3.9%, and 2.6% year-on-year respectively; while the retail sales of department stores and brand specialty stores decreased by 3.0% and 1.1% respectively. In October, the retail sales of key large-scale retail enterprises nationwide (mainly department stores) decreased by 2.1% year-on-year, a narrowing decrease of 5.0 percentage points from September, marking the third consecutive month of narrowing decline. From January to October, the retail sales of key large-scale retail enterprises nationwide decreased by 5.3% year-on-year, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from January to September. Retail sales of goods achieved faster growth. In October, the retail sales of goods reached 4044 billion yuan, an increase of 5% year-on-year, an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the previous month; while the revenue from catering reached 495.2 billion yuan, an increase of 3.2% year-on-year, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. The growth rate of retail sales of goods was 1.8 percentage points higher than that of catering revenue. From January to October, the retail sales of goods reached 3545.93 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 3.2% year-on-year, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous three quarters; while catering revenue reached 443.67 billion yuan, a cumulative increase of 5.9% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.3 percentage points from the previous three quarters. Sales of upgraded goods are trending well, and the sales growth of goods related to the replacement of old for new is accelerating. The effects of the policy on the replacement of old for new consumer goods are accelerating. In October, the retail sales of automobiles in units above set limits increased by 3.7% year-on-year, an increase of 3.3 percentage points from the previous month, marking two consecutive months of positive growth; the retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment increased by 39.2%, an increase of 18.7 percentage points; the retail sales of cultural office supplies and furniture increased by 18.0% and 7.4% respectively, with increases of 8 and 7 percentage points in growth; the decline in the retail sales of building and decorating materials continued to narrow. The retail sales growth of goods in units above set limits has significantly accelerated, while the growth of catering revenue in units below set limits has remained relatively strong. According to estimates, in October, the retail sales of goods in units above set limits increased by 6.8% year-on-year, an increase of 4 percentage points from the previous month; while the retail sales of goods in units below set limits and individual operators increased by 3.9% year-on-year, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. From January to October, the retail sales of goods in units below set limits and individual operators increased by 3.5% year-on-year, which was faster than the growth of retail sales of goods in units above set limits by 0.8 percentage points. According to estimates, in October, catering revenue for units below set limits and individual operators increased by 4.5% year-on-year, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous month. From January to October, catering revenue for units below set limits and individual operators increased by 7% year-on-year, which was faster than the growth of catering revenue for units above set limits by 3.8 percentage points. The increase in consumer prices has slightly eased. In October, the consumer price index rose by 0.3% year-on-year, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. Within this, food prices rose by 2.9%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points from the previous month; non-food prices fell by 0.3%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. Among non-food items, energy prices fell by 5.1%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the previous month. Service prices rose by 0.4%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. From January to October, the national consumer price index rose by 0.3% compared to the same period last year, consistent with the previous three quarters.