China Retail Sales Grow More than Expected

2026-03-16 02:28 By Czyrill Jean Coloma 1 min. read

China's retail sales rose 2.8% year-on-year in the first two months of 2026, accelerating from a 0.9% gain in December and exceeding market expectations of a 2.5% rise.

This marked the strongest growth since last October, partly boosted by the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

The extended holiday fueled a steady surge in consumer spending nationwide, from hotel reservations to duty-free purchases.

Sales increased sharply for grains, oil, and food products (10.2% vs 3.9% in December) and clothing, footwear, and textiles (10.4% vs 0.6%).

Trade also rebounded for home appliances and audio-visual equipment (3.3% vs -18.7%) and tobacco and alcohol (19.1% vs -2.9%), while it declined moderately for petroleum and related products (-9.7% vs -11%).

Meanwhile, sales continued to fall for automobiles (-7.3% vs -5%).

China merges retail sales data for January and February to account for the varying timing of the Lunar New Year each year, ensuring a more consistent and accurate comparison.



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