Head of the Consumer Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce discusses the situation of China's consumer market in April 2026.

From January to April, as the special action to boost consumption continued to be implemented, the effects of policies such as trading in old products for new ones, awarding of invoices, and tax refunds for outbound travelers continued to be evident, and the consumption market showed a stable operation and a trend towards new and better development. The total retail sales of goods and services increased by 3.2% year-on-year. Specifically, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 1.9%, excluding automobiles and petroleum, the growth was 3.7%; service retail sales increased by 5.6%. Firstly, basic necessities saw steady growth, and there was strong demand for green and intelligent products. In April, the retail sales of grain and oil, clothing, and footwear in enterprises above a certain size increased by 4.1% and 3.6% respectively. The trading in old products for new ones drove the sales of green and intelligent products to grow rapidly. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in April, sales of smart glasses on key platforms increased by 5.9 times, sales of handheld photography equipment increased by 26.9%, sales of smart blood glucose meters increased by 12.3%, and sales of level-one energy-efficient washing machines increased by 10.4%; the market penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles reached 61.4%, exceeding 60% for the first time. Secondly, consumption structure is optimizing and upgrading, and service consumption is steadily expanding. China's per capita GDP has exceeded $13,000, and consumer spending is accelerating its upgrade from survival-oriented and basic to development-oriented and quality-oriented, shifting from a focus on goods consumption to a balanced focus on goods and services consumption. From January to April, the growth rate of service retail sales increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Among which, catering revenue grew by 3.8%; retail sales of travel consultancy, rental services, transportation, and cultural and recreational services all maintained double-digit growth. Thirdly, rural consumption is growing faster than urban consumption, with potential for market expansion in lower-tier cities. From January to April, retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas increased by 2.8%, a growth rate 1 percentage point higher than urban areas. The proportion of retail sales of consumer goods in counties and townships, including urban and rural areas, accounted for 39.7% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year. Finally, inbound consumption continues to heat up, and outbound tax refunds have increased significantly. As the scope of countries offering visa-free entry expands, the policy of outbound tax refunds has been optimized and upgraded, the "Shopping in China" campaign has been orderly implemented, and the "inflow of visitors" is transforming into "increased consumption". In the first quarter, travel service exports increased by 32.3% year-on-year. From January to April, outbound tax refunds in Guangzhou and Shenzhen increased by 186% and 145% respectively, while in Shanghai and Beijing, they increased by 65% and 45% respectively.