Ministry of Commerce: Zero sales of smart glasses and humanoid robots increased by 175.2% and 20.6% respectively in April

On May 26th, according to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, from January to April 2026, China's e-commerce will continue to play an empowering role, with digitalization promoting industrial upgrading, scenario based stimulating consumption vitality, globalization expanding cooperation space, and helping to consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy.

E-commerce empowers industrial transformation and upgrading. In depth implementation of the Guiding Opinions on Better Serving the Real Economy and Promoting the High Quality Development of E-commerce has significantly improved the quality and efficiency of e-commerce in promoting the transformation and upgrading of industries towards digitalization. According to the monitoring of business big data, the online retail sales of agricultural products in China increased by 12.2% from January to April, with a focus on monitoring the e-commerce transaction volume of metal products and chemical products, which increased by 34.8% and 12.2% respectively. The strong drainage effect of e-commerce has driven the rapid development of service industries such as tourism and catering. According to business big data monitoring, the sales of tourism and catering industries through online channels increased by 33.2% and 20% respectively from January to April.

Digital consumption drives the growth of quality consumption. The 8th Double Product Online Shopping Festival serves "Buy in China" and unleashes the vitality of quality consumption through diverse scenarios. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the online retail sales of goods and services in China increased by 6.6% from January to April, and the contribution rate of online retail sales to the total retail sales of consumer goods in society was 72.2%. Consumer scenarios such as intelligent travel are driving the growth of digital products. According to business big data monitoring, the intelligent assistive exoskeleton network saw a zero growth of 785.5% from January to April. Recently, consumer grade embodied intelligence has grown rapidly, with zero sales of smart glasses and humanoid robots increasing by 175.2% and 20.6% respectively in April.

Silk Road e-commerce deepens international cooperation. The theme activity of "Silk Road E-commerce Benefiting the World" promotes the export of high-quality goods from around the world to China. According to business big data monitoring, from January to April, the global sales of goods on cross-border e-commerce import platforms increased by 4.3%. Thai durian, UAE beverage, and Italian casual pants net zero sales increased by 344.8%, 78.6%, and 22.8% respectively, with popular imported products enriching domestic consumer choices and promoting "Silk Road e-commerce" partner countries to share the Chinese e-commerce market. According to preliminary estimates by the General Administration of Customs, China's cross-border e-commerce imports and exports from January to March amounted to 618.46 billion yuan, with exports totaling 473.55 billion yuan and imports totaling 144.91 billion yuan.