Ministry of Commerce: The consumer market continued to expand and upgrade in the first half of the year and was fully resilient

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the head of the Consumer Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce discussed the situation in China's consumer market in the first half of 2026. Looking at commodity consumption, the consumer market continues to expand and upgrade, and is fully resilient. Under the high base for the same period last year, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 1.3% in the first half of the year. The growth rate stopped falling and rebounded in June, with an increase of 1.0%. Among the 16 categories of products in units above the quota, 10 categories of products continued to grow. Of these, 7 categories of products grew at a growth rate of more than 5%. Overall, commodity consumption was stable and the fundamentals were good, showing a further steady and positive trend. Consumer demand for green, smart, and health products was strong. Retail sales of communication equipment per unit above the limit increased by 14.4%, and retail sales of high-energy efficiency household appliances increased by more than 30%; according to the Ministry of Commerce's big business data, sales of smart glasses on key platforms increased 1.5 times, sales of ECG monitors increased 89.5% in the first half of the year, sales of sports cameras increased 21.4%, and sales of organic food increased 5.2%.

The original text is as follows:

The head of the Department of Consumer Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce talks about China's consumer market situation in the first half of 2026

Since this year, commercial departments at all levels have earnestly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the “policy+activity” two-wheel drive, thoroughly implemented special actions to boost consumption, optimized consumer goods trade-in policies, promoted high-quality development of service consumption, carried out pilot projects for rewarding invoices, introduced version 2.0 of the departure tax refund policy, and built the “Buy in China” brand. Consumer promotion efforts have played an important role in expanding domestic demand and steady growth.

1. Looking at the overall structure, the consumer market has entered a stage of development where “good+service” is equally important. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the living standards of Chinese residents, the consumer market has moved from being dominated by commodity consumption to a stage of development where commodity consumption and service consumption are equal. In the first half of the year, total retail sales of consumer goods and services increased by 2.7% year on year (same below). Among them, retail sales of services increased by 5.3%, which was 4.2 percentage points higher than retail sales of goods. Service consumption is growing faster than commodity consumption, which not only conforms to China's current economic and social development reality, but also reflects the trend of continuous optimization of China's residents' consumption structure and continuous improvement in residents' living needs.

2. Looking at commodity consumption, the consumer market continues to expand and upgrade, and is fully resilient. Under the high base for the same period last year, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 1.3% in the first half of the year. The growth rate stopped falling and rebounded in June, with an increase of 1.0%. Among the 16 categories of products in units above the quota, 10 categories of products continued to grow. Of these, 7 categories of products grew at a growth rate of more than 5%. Overall, commodity consumption was stable and the fundamentals were good, showing a further steady and positive trend. Consumer demand for green, smart, and health products was strong. Retail sales of communication equipment per unit above the limit increased by 14.4%, and retail sales of high-energy efficiency household appliances increased by more than 30%; according to the Ministry of Commerce's big business data, sales of smart glasses on key platforms increased 1.5 times, sales of ECG monitors increased 89.5% in the first half of the year, sales of sports cameras increased 21.4%, and sales of organic food increased 5.2%.

3. Looking at development prospects, the role of consumption as the primary driving force for economic development will continue to be consolidated. In the first half of the year, final consumption expenditure boosted GDP growth by 2.1 percentage points, continuing to play the leading role in economic growth. With the iterative upgrading of technology and better adaptation of supply and demand, more new products will enter the consumer market, bringing new consumption increases while meeting people's needs for a better life. Furthermore, China's county market and consumer groups such as silver hair, young people, and children are huge. The trend of consumer demand upgrading is obvious, and there are broad prospects for consumption growth. As a series of consumer promotion policies continue to be implemented and effective, the supply of goods and services is continuously optimized, and new consumption growth points and new scenarios emerge at an accelerated pace, the advantages of China's hyperscale market will be further highlighted. The consumer market will continue to develop and expand, and its role as the “main engine” of economic growth will become stronger and stronger.

This article was selected from the “Ministry of Commerce” official website, Zhitong Finance Editor: Li Fu.