The Consumer Market Is Expanding and Upgrading, and the Commercial Circulation Is Being Renewed and Improved in Quality

The Consumer Market Is Expanding and Upgrading, and the Commercial Circulation Is Being Renewed and Improved in Quality

—Series Report XII on Achievements in Economic and Social Development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

National Bureau of Statistics, June 4, 2026

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all localities and government departments have thoroughly implemented the strategy of expanding domestic demand. A series of policies and measures to boost consumption in all respects have been introduced in light of the prevailing conditions, with coordinated efforts being made to promote consumption, improve people’s livelihoods, optimize supply, and expand demand. An action plan to boost consumption has been advanced, leading to the continuous expansion of the consumer market, steady optimization of the consumption structure, and a commercial circulation system that has become increasingly robust, with operational efficiency rising steadily.

I. The Steady Development of the Consumer Market, with Commercial Circulation Being Continuously Improved

(I) The Expansion of the Scale of Market Sales, with the More Prominent Role of Consumption as the Main Engine

China has made solid progress in pursuing high-quality development, the market supply system has been optimized and upgraded, urban and rural household incomes have risen steadily, consumption potential has been continuously unleashed, and the scale of market sales has kept expanding. In 2025, total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 50.1 trillion, breaking through RMB 50 trillion mark for the first time and reaching a new level. China has maintained its position as the world’s second-largest commodity consumer market and the largest online retail market for many consecutive years. From 2021 to 2025, despite a complex and severe external environment and the impact of the pandemic on the domestic market, the consumer market overall maintained growth. While the average annual growth rate of commodity retail sales exceeded 4.5%, the average annual growth rate of service retail sales was over 8%. This has not only demonstrated the vibrant vitality and deep potential of China’s ultra-large-scale consumer market but has also strongly confirmed its powerful risk resilience and development robustness.

Domestic demand for goods and services has been continuously stimulated. Retail sales of goods have sustained steady growth, and the services consumption market has recovered rapidly following the smooth transition in pandemic prevention and control. These developments have driven the steady expansion of the domestic consumer market, making consumption a stabilizer of China’s economic growth. In 2025, the contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth reached 52%, 36.7 percentage points higher than that of gross capital formation, indicating that final consumption expenditure played a significantly greater role in driving economic growth than gross capital formation. From 2021 to 2025, the average annual contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth was close to 60%, continuously serving as the main engine of economic development. The final consumption rate increased from 55.4% in 2020 to 56.9% in 2025, a rise of 1.5 percentage points. Within this, the household consumption rate rose from 37.9% in 2020 to 40.0% in 2025, becoming the main factor driving the significant increase in the final consumption rate. From 2021 to 2025, household consumption expenditure grew at an average annual rate of 7.3%, and its share in final consumption expenditure remained stable at around 70%.

(II) Flourishing Business Entities in the Commercial Sector and Continuous Growth of the Commercial Circulation Industry

A market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment has been gradually fostered and improved. The advantages of the domestic ultra-large-scale market have been effectively unleashed, leading to rapid growth in the number of business entity units in commercial circulation. By the end of 2024, the number of corporate units in China’s wholesale and retail trade had exceeded 11.17 million, approximately 1.3 times the number at the end of 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 7.3% from 2021 to 2024. The number of corporate units in accommodation and catering had approached 760,000, approximately 1.5 times the number at the end of 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 10.2% from 2021 to 2024. According to data from the Fifth National Economic Census, by the end of 2023, China had 44.79 million and 10.92 million self-employed individuals in wholesale and retail trade and in accommodation and catering, respectively, accounting for 50.9% and 12.4% of all self-employed individuals. The flourishing development of business entities in the commercial sector has not only responded to the diverse consumer demands of the public, but has also provided solid underpinning for the expansion and upgrading of the consumer market.

The development of China’s modern distribution system has been steadily advanced, trade and distribution infrastructure has been increasingly improved, and distribution formats and models have undergone integrated evolution, with the industry maintaining sound and stable growth. In 2025, the value added of wholesale and retail trade and the value added of accommodation and catering reached RMB 14.6 trillion and RMB 2.6 trillion, respectively, accounting for 10.4% and 1.9% of GDP. These shares increased by 0.9 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2020. Calculated at constant prices, from 2021 to 2025, the value added of wholesale and retail trade and the value added of accommodation and catering grew at average annual rates of 6.8% and 8.7%, respectively. The status of the four major industries—wholesale, retail, accommodation, and catering—in economic and social development have continued to be consolidated. They have played an important supporting role in economic growth, injecting lasting momentum into promoting the high-quality development of the tertiary industry and facilitating the smooth circulation of the national economy.

II. Upgrading and Quality Improvement of Consumption Structure, Diversified Consumption Unleashes Potential

(I) Quality Improvement and Optimization of Commodity Sales, and Sustained Release of Quality Demand

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, alongside rising resident incomes and improved market supply, residents have shown a greater preference for diversified and quality goods. The focus of commodity consumption has shifted towards quality enhancement and experience improvement. Demand for upgraded goods has accelerated in formation and release, leading to the optimization and upgrading of the resident consumption structure. In 2025, among commodities sold by above-quota units, retail sales of communication equipment, cultural and office supplies, sports and recreational goods, and gold, silver, and jewelry increased by 20.9%, 17.3%, 15.7%, and 12.8%, respectively, compared to the previous year. Their shares in above-quota commodity retail sales increased by 1.3, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2020. China has ranked first in the world in automobile sales for 17 consecutive years, with household car ownership increasing markedly. In 2025, the number of household cars owned per 100 households nationwide at year-end was 52.9, 1.4 times that of 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 7.4% from 2021 to 2025.

New forms of consumption have flourished, continuously stimulating the vitality of the consumer market. Digital consumption has continued to heat up under the combined effects of technological empowerment, policy support, and market expansion. Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s digital consumption has expanded and improved in quality, reaching a scale of RMB 25.3 trillion in 2025. Green consumption has grown rapidly, driven by industrial transformation and policy guidance. According to statistics from the Automobile Dealers Association, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the new energy passenger vehicle market experienced leapfrog expansion. In 2025, retail sales reached 12.809 million vehicles with a penetration rate of 53.9% (meaning for every 100 passenger vehicles sold throughout the year, 53.9 were new energy vehicles), achieving significant breakthroughs compared to the 1.112 million retail sales and 5.8% penetration rate in 2020. In 2025, among enterprises above the designated retail threshold, retail sales of home appliances with high energy-efficiency ratings ^[1] accounted for 52.4% of total home appliance sales, an increase of more than 30 percentage points over 2020. With the in-depth implementation of the Healthy China strategy, consumer attitudes have shifted from traditional passive treatment toward proactive prevention and health management. The demand for health consumption has been continuously unleashed, the supply of health products and services has been steadily optimized, and consumption scenarios have become increasingly diverse. In 2025, the national per capita consumption expenditure on healthcare reached RMB 2,573, with an average annual growth rate of 6.9% from 2021 to 2025. Ice and snow consumption has transcended the traditional north-south geographical divide, integrating deeply with cultural and tourism experiences, and has gradually transformed into a nationwide mass consumption hotspot. The China Ice and Snow Industry Development Research Report (2025) shows that during the 2024-2025 ice and snow season, resident participation in ice and snow sports and the resulting consumption scale exceeded RMB 187.5 billion, an increase of over 25% compared to the previous ice and snow season.

(II) Diversified Expansion of Service Consumption, with Sustained Enhancement of Market Vitality

During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the trend of China’s resident consumption shifting towards an equal emphasis on goods consumption and service consumption has become more pronounced. The state has successively introduced a series of policies to promote and expand service consumption, making continuous efforts in areas such as catering, culture, tourism, domestic services, elderly care, childcare, and sports. These efforts have driven the enrichment and improvement of service supply, enhanced the compatibility between service consumption supply and demand, and effectively stimulated the momentum of service consumption. In 2025, service retail sales grew by 5.5% year on year, a rate 1.7 percentage points higher than that of goods retail sales in the same period. The per capita service consumption expenditure of residents reached RMB 14,000, accounting for 46.1% of the per capita consumption expenditure of residents, an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared to 2020.

Consumption in catering and in cultural tourism and travel has produced a multitude of highlights. Changes in residents’ dietary concepts and consumption behaviors, coupled with continuous innovation and transformation in the catering industry, have driven the sustained expansion of the catering market scale. In 2025, the national catering revenue scale exceeded RMB 5.8 trillion, a significant increase from RMB 4.0 trillion in 2020. Among these, cold beverages and fast food, which cater to consumers’ demand for convenience and value, have maintained sound growth momentum. The cultural tourism industry has accelerated the integration of business formats and scenario innovation, with immersive and experiential consumption hotspots emerging one after another, driving relatively rapid growth in travel-related service consumption. Since 2023, three major categories of service retail sales—cultural, sports, and leisure services; tourism consulting and rental services; and transportation and travel services—have maintained rapid and sustained growth, significantly higher than the overall level of service retail sales. The public cultural facilities network has become more robust, continuously stimulating residents’ cultural consumption demand. Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration show that by the end of 2024, there were 3,248 public libraries, nearly 44,000 mass cultural institutions, over 40,000 new types of public cultural spaces, and 7,046 registered museums nationwide.

III. The Development of Innovative Business Formats and the Growth of New Models

(I) The Significant Increase of Online Consumption and the Revitalization of Offline Business Formats

During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the iterative application of information technology and the increasingly improved modern logistics and distribution network continuously expanded online consumption scenarios, shaped residents’ online consumption habits, and kept online retail sales leading the growth of the consumer market. In 2025, national online retail sales of goods (physical goods) reached RMB 13.1 trillion, accounting for 26.1% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase of 3.3 percentage points from 2020. From 2021 to 2025, the average annual growth rate of national online retail sales of goods (physical goods) was 7.6%, 2.5 percentage points faster than the average annual growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods. The supporting capacity of express delivery and logistics has been steadily strengthened, providing a solid distribution guarantee for the development of online consumption. In 2025, the operating income of the postal industry (excluding the direct operating income of Postal Savings Bank) reached RMB 1.8 trillion, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 10% from 2021 to 2025.

Physical retail enterprises, closely aligned with residents’ diverse and quality-oriented consumption demands, have actively promoted consumption scenario innovation and service quality upgrades, revitalizing offline business formats with new opportunities. Among enterprises above the designated size, specialty stores and brand franchise stores have expanded continuously to adapt to the trend of quality consumption. By the end of 2025, the number of these two types of outlets increased to 100,000 and 55,000 respectively, 2.1 times and 1.5 times the number at the end of 2020. Warehouse membership stores, with their high quality-to-price ratio advantage, have won the favor of more and more consumers, with the number of outlets growing at an average annual rate of over 20% from 2021 to 2025. Convenience stores, as retail channels meeting immediate consumption needs, have continued to expand into lower-tier markets in recent years, with the number of outlets growing at an average annual rate of over 20% from 2021 to 2025.

(II) Development and Expansion of New Consumption Models, with Digital Transformation Facilitating Upgrading

Various business entities have continuously adapted to consumption changes by innovating their operational models, driving the development and expansion of new consumption models. Urban commercial complexes, integrating multiple urban functions such as commercial retail, catering and social interaction, leisure and entertainment, and cultural education, have continued to develop and improve, becoming consumption carriers rich in goods and service supply. By the end of 2024, the number of urban commercial complexes ^[2] nationwide had reached 1,810, an increase of 270 from the end of 2020. The annual total passenger flow approached 20 billion person-times, and sales (turnover) reached RMB 1.3 trillion, both figures being 1.5 times those in 2020. New models such as livestreaming commerce and instant retail have grown rapidly. The live-streaming e-commerce industry has maintained a high growth trend in recent years, with retail sales from live-streaming e-commerce growing by over 10% year on year in 2025. Instant retail has continued its rapid development, constantly meeting consumers’ increasing demands for timeliness and convenience.

The in-depth application of information technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence in the commercial circulation sector have supported the transformation and integrated development of physical commerce, with enterprises steadily advancing their online layout. In 2025, the number of commercial enterprises above the designated size conducting internet business exceeded 90,000, accounting for nearly 15% of all commercial enterprises above the designated size, an increase of over 2 percentage points from 2020. Digital empowerment has enhanced both the operational efficiency and growth momentum of the commercial sector, with its driving effect on the business growth of commercial enterprises becoming prominent. In 2025, the sales (turnover) of commercial enterprises above the designated size conducting internet business grew by over 7% year on year, a growth rate approximately 5 percentage points faster than that of all commercial enterprises above the designated size.

IV. The Balanced and Integrated Development of Urban and Rural Areas under Consolidated Regional Coordination

(I) County and Township Markets Bursting with Vitality, Led by the Revitalization of Urban Consumption

During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, urban commerce has developed with enhanced quality, and its leading role in consumption became prominent. A series of favorable policies for improving and upgrading urban commercial facilities have been introduced, the spatial layout of urban commerce has been continuously optimized, old neighborhoods, pedestrian streets, and community commercial facilities have been steadily revitalized, and the development of convenience service facilities has been advanced at a steady pace. As urbanization has deepened, the consumption agglomeration effect in urban areas has been continuously unleashed, and the urban retail market has maintained a sound development trajectory. In 2025, retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas exceeded RMB 30 trillion, 1.3 times the figure for 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 4.9% from 2021 to 2025.

The consumer market in counties and townships has maintained relatively rapid growth, with the consumption vitality of residents being further strengthened. As the achievements in poverty alleviation have been consolidated and expanded and rural revitalization has been steadily advanced across all fronts, the income growth of rural residents has continued to outpace that of urban residents, and their spending power has been steadily enhanced. The county-level commercial system and distribution facilities have been improved, the coverage of town and township commercial centers and village-level convenience stores has increased, and market supply in counties and townships has been continuously optimized. By the end of 2024, 1,315 county-level public delivery and distribution centers, 6,904 township-level public delivery and distribution centers, and 487,000 village-level convenience service stations had been built nationwide. China Post has achieved 100% coverage in township outlets and 100% direct mail delivery to administrative villages. Consumption vitality in counties and townships has continued to manifest itself, with the market scale expanding rapidly. In 2025, retail sales of consumer goods in towns and rural areas reached RMB 12.6 trillion and RMB 6.8 trillion respectively, with average annual growth rates of 5.6% and 5.4% from 2021 to 2025, 0.7 and 0.5 percentage points higher than the growth rate of urban area retail sales, respectively. The share of county and township retail sales of consumer goods (including towns and rural areas) in the total retail sales of consumer goods increased from 38.0% in 2020 to 38.7% in 2025.

(II) Coordinated Development of Regional Consumer Markets, with Faster Growth in Central and Western Regions

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have coordinated regional high-quality development and coordinated development, advancing major regional strategies in an integrated manner, and implementing the regional coordinated development strategy in depth. The continuous improvement of regional infrastructure and the undertaking of industrial transfers have shown sustained effects. Economic integration across regions has deepened, the balance and coordination of regional consumer markets have gradually improved, and the coordinated development of regional consumer markets has progressed with the overall gap gradually narrowing. In 2025, retail sales of consumer goods in China’s eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions reached RMB 25.2 trillion, RMB 12.4 trillion, RMB 10.5 trillion, and RMB 2.0 trillion, respectively. From 2021 to 2025, the average annual growth rates of retail sales of consumer goods in the four regions were 4.8%, 6.2%, 5.1%, and 3.0%, respectively.

By region, the eastern region, relying on its industrial and population advantages, has a solid foundation for the development of its consumer goods market. In 2025, its retail sales of consumer goods accounted for 50.3% of the national total retail sales of consumer goods. The central and western regions have seized opportunities presented by regional development strategies, steadily advanced the expansion and quality improvement of their consumer markets, and demonstrated advantages of late-mover growth. From 2021 to 2025, the average annual growth rates of retail sales of consumer goods in the central and western regions outpaced that of the eastern region by 1.4 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively. The market shares of these two regions have significantly increased, reaching 24.7% and 21.0% of the national total in 2025, both higher than the levels recorded in 2020.

V. Economic Circulation Smoothed Through Coordinated Policy Efforts, with Lower Cost and Higher Efficiency

(I) The Further Advancement of Market Reform and the Continuous Improvement of Business Environment

China has continued to deepen market reforms, focused on optimizing the business environment, and constantly invigorated business entities in the commercial sector. The market access negative list system has been consistently implemented, with the list being further streamlined and optimized. Relaxing market entry has stimulated the diversity of consumption supply, unified rules have enhanced the level of market integration, and regulating emerging business formats has provided new space for consumption development. Meanwhile, relevant departments have continuously optimized approval services, deepened reforms in the “separating operating permits from business licenses” system and the notification-commitment system, and simplified approval processes. Coupled with the implementation of a series of structural tax and fee reduction policies, the burden on the broad range of business entities in the commercial sector has been continuously alleviated. In 2021, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the Action Plan for Building a High-Standard Market System, which focused on removing institutional and mechanistic barriers hindering the market-based allocation of production factors and the flow of goods and services, consolidating the foundations of various systems, and making multiple arrangements specifically aimed at improving the market environment and quality. In 2023, the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Development of the Private Sector was issued, providing safeguards from aspects such as optimizing the development environment for private enterprises, increasing policy support, and strengthening legal guarantees. This has effectively assisted private enterprises in the commercial sector to become stronger, better, and larger, and activated the development momentum of the consumer market.

(II) The Implementation of Policies to Activate Demand and the Improvement of Quality of Supply to Smooth Economic Circulation

China has anchored the CPC Central Committee’s deployment of comprehensively promoting consumption, organically combined the implementation of the strategy to expand domestic demand with deepening supply-side structural reform, and activated consumer demand through coordinated policy efforts. In 2021, the Guiding Opinions of the Ministry of Commerce and 17 Other Departments on Strengthening the Construction of County-level Commercial Systems and Promoting Rural Consumption was issued. A departmental work coordination mechanism was established focusing on improving the county-township circulation network, addressing shortcomings in commercial facilities, and enriching the county-township consumer market. Since 2023, a three-year action plan for county-level commerce has been implemented, gradually improving the effectiveness of building the county-level commercial system. A tiered and categorized urban commercial network has been continuously improved. In 2021, the cultivation and construction of international consumption center cities were launched first in five cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing, aiming to create consumption hubs with global influence and appeal, and drive a number of large and medium-sized cities to enhance the internationalization level of their consumer markets. The construction of the urban 15-minute convenient living circle started pilot projects in the same year, and the Three-year Action Plan to Comprehensively Promote the Construction of 15-Minute Living Circles in Cities has been implemented since 2023. By the end of 2025, relevant pilot areas had built 8,132 convenient living circles, involving 1.954 million commercial outlets and serving 168 million community residents. The demonstration and creation project for China Time-honored Brands has been steadily advanced. As of February 2024, 1,455 China Time-honored Brands had been certified, with an average age of about 140 years, and over 60% distributed in fields such as food retail and catering. In 2024, the State Council issued the Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Service Consumption, the first systematic plan specifically dedicated to the development of service consumption, actively guiding supply optimization and demand release across various fields of service consumption. Market order supervision has been continuously improved and strengthened. The Regulation on the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests has been put into effect, promoting more effective consumer rights protection and dispute resolution. In early 2025, the Special Action Plan for Boosting Consumption was implemented, focusing on three aspects: enhancing consumption capacity, expanding high-quality supply, and optimizing the consumption environment, building a policy system that balances short-term and long-term goals, providing strong support for comprehensively boosting consumption.

(III) Significant Effects of Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvement for Enterprises, with the Continuous Improvement of Distribution Efficiency

During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, a series of policies for stabilizing enterprises and alleviating difficulties, such as tax and fee reductions and financing support, have been implemented with targeted precision. These, together with the deepening integration of new-generation information technologies and modern logistics development, have jointly driven cost reduction and quality improvement for enterprises. In 2024, the expense rate (the proportion of selling expenses, administrative expenses, and financial expenses to operating income) of wholesale and retail enterprises above the designated size was 4.4%, 0.7 percentage points lower than in 2020. At the end of 2024, the asset-liability ratio of enterprises was 71.5%, 0.8 percentage points lower than that at the end of 2020, indicating enhanced risk resistance and sustainable development capabilities of enterprises. Digital transformation has been deeply advanced, and the informatization level of the commercial sector has continuously improved. New technologies such as cloud computing, big data, and the Internet of Things have been deeply integrated and applied with new models of commercial operations, reshaping value across all aspects of enterprise management and operations, leading to a significant increase in enterprise operational efficiency. In 2024, the inventory turnover days for wholesale and retail enterprises above the designated size were 20.1 days, a reduction of 2.2 days compared to 2020. The per capita operating income of enterprises increased from RMB 6.28 million in 2020 to RMB 9 million in 2024.

During the period of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s consumer market has solidified its development foundation through scale expansion, released the potential of domestic demand through structural upgrading, activated growth momentum through business format and model innovation, and broadened development space through urban-rural and regional coordination. Standing at a new starting point for development, it is necessary to recognize that the consumer market still faces problems and challenges such as the need to enhance residents’ consumption capacity and willingness, and the need to strengthen the alignment between market supply and consumer demand. We must always adhere to anchoring the strategic basis of expanding domestic demand, continuously consolidate the foundation of resident consumption, enrich consumption supply scenarios, optimize the consumption development environment, persistently unleash the potential of the ultra-large-scale market, enhance the endogenous dynamism of the domestic circulation, and promote high-quality economic development.

Note:

[1] It refers to household appliances and audio-visual equipment with energy efficiency ratings of Grade 1 and Grade 2.

[2] It refers to a large-scale building complex centered on a region, dominated by a shopping center, and targeted at various daily consumer groups with comprehensive services, integrating multiple major urban functional activities in fields such as commercial retail, catering, leisure and wellness, entertainment, culture, and education. The identified survey subjects should, in addition to possessing the characteristics of an urban commercial complex—such as integrating multiple major urban functions, catering to daily consumer groups, and providing comprehensive services—also meet the following conditions: (1) managed, and operated in a planned manner by an enterprise, and having a unified name (e.g., **Center, **Plaza, and **City); (2) encompassing retail formats (such as supermarkets, department stores, specialty stores, and exclusive stores), catering formats (such as formal dining and fast food), as well as two or more major service formats (such as culture, entertainment, fitness, and training); and (3) having a business floor area of no less than 10,000 square meters and at least 50 independently operating merchants.

Translate from: Websit of the National Bureau of Statistics,June 4,2026