China’s Consumption Market Rebounds Notably in January-February 2026

A press conference was held by the State Council Information Office today to brief the public on China’s national economic performance during the first two months of 2026. A spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics stated that since the start of this year, driven by consumption-promotion policies and the impact of the extended Spring Festival holiday, market sales have rebounded markedly, the potential of service consumption has been released, and the momentum of new forms of consumption has been strengthened.

Data showed that from January to February, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 2.8% year-on-year, a growth rate 1.9 percentage points higher than that in December last year and 1.1 percentage points higher than the average of the fourth quarter of last year. Retail sales of services rose by 5.6% year-on-year, 0.1 percentage points higher than the full-year figure of last year, and continued to outpace the growth of commodity retail sales.

The spokesperson outlined three key features of the consumption market in the first two months.

First, service consumption expanded steadily. Boosted by the Spring Festival holiday, residents’ spending on cultural and tourism activities increased significantly, driving the growth of related service sales. In the first two months, retail sales of tourism consulting and rental services as well as cultural, sports and leisure services all maintained a rapid growth rate of over 10%. During the Spring Festival holiday, domestic trips reached nearly 600 million person-times, with total tourism spending exceeding 800 billion yuan, both setting historical records. Meanwhile, the expansion of visa-free entry policies has attracted more inbound tourists, which also contributed to the growth of the domestic market. The increase in social gatherings during the holiday led to a significant rise in catering consumption; catering revenue in the first two months increased by 4.8% year-on-year, a growth rate 2.6 percentage points higher than that in December last year.

Second, commodity consumption upgraded and improved in quality. Driven by rising residents’ consumption quality and the Spring Festival holiday, sales of some basic daily necessities expanded notably. In the first two months, retail sales of grain, oil and food as well as clothing, footwear, hats and textiles under designated-size enterprises increased by 10.2% and 10.4% year-on-year respectively. 

The spokesperson noted that the rapid growth of basic daily necessities was mainly due to residents’ higher requirements for product quality and grade. For instance, the total consumption of food remained limited, and the growth in sales was largely driven by the rising demand for green and healthy food. 

Meanwhile, supported by consumption upgrading, sales of products related to developmental and improvement-oriented needs grew rapidly, with retail sales of gold, silver and jewelry under designated-size enterprises increasing by 13% year-on-year in the first two months. 

The effect of the commodity trade-in policy continued to show: retail sales of communication equipment by designated-size enterprises rose by 17.8% year-on-year, maintaining rapid growth, while retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment increased by 3.3%, a notable rebound from December last year. 

Among household appliances and audio-visual equipment, high-energy-efficiency products maintained a double-digit growth rate, indicating a growing demand for green products.

Third, new forms of consumption developed well. With the growing momentum of online and digital consumption, online retail sales continued to expand. In the first two months, online retail sales of goods and services increased by 9.2% year-on-year, significantly outpacing the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods. 

Among them, online retail sales of goods rose by 10.3%, faster than the growth of total commodity retail sales, and continued to play a strong driving role in consumption. Online service consumption also maintained strong momentum, with online retail sales of services increasing by 7.3% year-on-year in the first two months, faster than the growth of total service retail sales. 

Since the start of this year, the online short drama market has been booming; platform monitoring showed that transaction volume of online short drama platforms increased by more than 30% in January and February. Meanwhile, green consumption, health consumption and first-launch economy have also played an increasingly prominent role in promoting consumption.

“On the whole, the market sales showed positive changes and strengthened growth momentum in the first two months, which is the result of the joint effect of effective consumption-promotion policies, consumption upgrading and the growth of new consumption drivers,” the spokesperson said. “Looking ahead, the upgrading of residents’ consumption structure and the expansion of new consumption momentum will remain important factors driving consumption growth. 

The implementation of a series of consumption-promotion policies will further boost consumption, which is expected to maintain steady growth.”