How will consumer spending trends develop this year? National Bureau of Statistics: Upgrading of residents' consumption structure and expansion of new consumption momentum remain important factors driving consumption growth.

Everyday Economic News Reporter | Zhou Yifei Everyday Economic News Editor | Huang Bowen

On March 16, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, where the National Bureau of Statistics introduced the economic performance from January to February 2026.

At the meeting, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, Chief Economist, and Director of the Department of Comprehensive Statistics on the National Economy, stated that from consumption’s perspective, this year’s long Spring Festival holiday has had a significant driving effect. Policies promoting replacement of old goods with new ones continue to show results. Cultural tourism and leisure entertainment markets are quite active, service consumption is growing rapidly, and market sales have noticeably rebounded. From January to February, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 2.8% year-on-year, accelerating by 1.9 percentage points compared to December last year, mainly reflecting product sales; service retail sales grew by 5.6%, significantly faster than merchandise retail growth.

Fu Linghui believes that looking ahead, the upgrading of residents’ consumption structure and the strengthening of new consumption drivers remain key factors influencing consumption growth. The implementation of a series of policies to promote consumption will further support growth, and consumption is expected to continue stable expansion.

Press conference scene Photo source: Zhou Yifei, reporter for Daily Economic News

Online Short-Drama Platform Transaction Volume Grew Over 30% in January-February

Boosting consumption is a key focus this year. After the holiday consumption surge, how will the consumption trend develop?

Fu Linghui identified three main trends.

First, steady expansion of service consumption. Driven by the Spring Festival holiday, residents’ cultural tourism consumption increased significantly, boosting related service sales. In the first two months, retail sales of tourism consulting, leasing services, and cultural and recreational services all maintained rapid growth of over 10%.

During the Spring Festival, nearly 600 million domestic trips were made, with total travel expenses exceeding 800 billion yuan, setting a new record. Additionally, expanded visa-free entry policies increased inbound tourism, further promoting domestic market sales. During the holiday, social gatherings and activities increased, and dining out saw a noticeable expansion. In the first two months, catering revenue increased by 4.8% year-on-year, accelerating by 2.6 percentage points compared to December last year.

Second, quality and upgrading of merchandise consumption. Residents’ consumption quality is steadily improving, and holiday-driven demand has significantly expanded sales of basic daily necessities. In the first two months, retail sales of grain, oil, food, clothing, shoes, hats, and textiles above designated size increased by 10.2% and 10.4%, respectively. The rapid growth in basic necessities is mainly due to residents’ higher demands for product quality and grade, such as increased demand for green and healthy foods, with total food consumption volume limited. The growth in sales is driven more by expanding demand for healthier products. Under the influence of consumption upgrades, sales of development-oriented and improvement-oriented products grew rapidly. In the first two months, retail sales of gold, silver, jewelry, and related items above designated size increased by 13% year-on-year.

“The effect of the policies promoting replacement of old products with new ones continues to show,” Fu Linghui explained. “In January and February, retail sales of communication equipment above designated size increased by 17.8%, maintaining rapid growth; retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment increased by 3.3%, a clear rebound from December. Among these products, high-efficiency energy products maintained double-digit growth, reflecting increasing demand for green products,” he added.

Third, the development of new forms of consumption is positive. With the growth of online and digital consumption, online retail sales continue to expand. In the first two months, online retail sales of goods and services increased by 9.2% year-on-year, significantly faster than total retail sales of consumer goods. Online goods retail sales grew by 10.3%, outpacing overall merchandise retail growth and further boosting consumption. Online service consumption remains hot, with retail sales of online services increasing by 7.3% year-on-year in January-February, also faster than total service retail sales. This year, the online short-drama market has been particularly popular. Platform monitoring shows that transaction volume on online short-drama platforms increased by over 30% in January and February. Meanwhile, green consumption, health-oriented consumption, and the debut economy continue to promote consumption growth.

Fu Linghui emphasized that overall, market sales in January and February showed positive changes, with increased growth momentum. This is the result of combined effects from policies promoting consumption, upgrading consumption, and the growth of new consumption drivers. Looking ahead, the upgrading of residents’ consumption structure and the strengthening of new consumption drivers will remain key factors. A series of policies to promote consumption will further support growth, and stable, sustained consumption is expected. Of course, building a strong domestic market and stimulating residents’ internal consumption motivation will require ongoing efforts.

“In the next stage, we will leverage our large-scale market advantages, implement targeted actions to boost consumption, develop plans to increase residents’ income in urban and rural areas, expand and upgrade merchandise consumption, improve service consumption quality for the benefit of the people, continuously optimize the consumption environment, and release consumption potential in cultural tourism, events, health and wellness sectors. This will stimulate consumption vitality, better promote economic circulation, and continuously improve people’s livelihoods,” Fu Linghui said.

First Release of “Online Goods and Services Retail Sales” Indicator, While Discontinuing “Online Retail Sales” Indicator

The Daily Economic News reporter found that the data on the national economic operation from January to February included a new indicator: “Online Goods and Services Retail Sales.” What was the reason for this change?

Fu Linghui further explained that this year’s release of consumption-related indicators includes an important change: the first-time publication of the “Online Goods and Services Retail Sales” indicator, while the “Online Retail Sales” indicator has been discontinued.

According to the explanation, “Online Goods and Services Retail Sales” is an optimized and improved version of the previous online retail sales indicator. The main difference is that it broadens the scope of online service platform statistics and enhances the measurement of online service retail sales.

Fu Linghui said, “The previously published online retail sales mainly included two categories: physical goods online retail sales, mainly reflecting online sales of tangible products; and non-physical goods online retail sales, mainly reflecting key platform service retail sales.”

He added that in recent years, as online services have developed rapidly, the National Bureau of Statistics has strengthened online service retail statistics. Building on the existing “non-physical goods online retail sales,” they have included more online service platforms in the scope of surveys and measurements, and introduced the “Online Service Retail Sales” indicator.

At the same time, the original “Physical Goods Online Retail Sales” indicator has been renamed “Online Goods Retail Sales,” with no change in scope or definition. The “Online Retail Sales” indicator has been renamed “Online Goods and Services Retail Sales.” After the adjustment, the total volume of online goods and services retail sales has expanded compared to the previous online retail sales, mainly due to the increase in online service retail sales.

Cover image source: Zhou Yifei, reporter for Daily Economic News