Ministry of Commerce: National online retail sales of goods and services increased by 4.6% from January to August

On September 20th, according to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, from January to August 2026, China's e-commerce will develop towards a new direction, integrating online and offline channels to promote consumption expansion and quality improvement, empowering industries with digitalization, and continuously expanding the circle of "Silk Road e-commerce" partner countries to deepen international economic and trade cooperation.

The integration of digital consumption online and offline. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the online retail sales of goods and services in China increased by 4.6% from January to August, with retail sales of goods and services growing by 4.3% and 5.1% respectively. According to calculations by the Ministry of Commerce, it has driven a growth of 1.3 percentage points in the retail sales of consumer goods and services. Digital and health products are growing rapidly. According to business big data monitoring, the zero sales of mobile phones and outdoor clothing websites increased by 6.8% and 6.9% respectively from January to August. Real time retail and online services are deeply integrated into consumer scenarios. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the growth rate of instant retail transactions from January to August exceeded double digits. The zero sales of tourism and life service networks, key e-commerce platforms monitored by business big data, increased by 23.8% and 15.6% respectively from January to August.

Industrial e-commerce promotes digital transformation. E-commerce leverages its technological and data advantages to improve the quality and efficiency of digital upgrading in agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries. The promotion of "promoting agriculture through digital commerce" is deepening. According to the monitoring of business big data, the online retail sales of agricultural products increased by 12.5% from January to August. E-commerce promotes the release of industrial agglomeration efficiency. According to business big data monitoring, online sales of electric bicycles in Wuxi, Jiangsu, Shihu in Lu'an, Zhejiang, and Xiamen, Fujian increased by 67.3%, 23.6%, and 11.8% respectively from January to August. E-commerce has driven rapid growth in service industries such as information, transportation, and logistics. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the production index of information transmission, software, and information technology services, transportation, warehousing, and postal services increased by 9.6% and 4.8% respectively in August.

Silk Road e-commerce deepens international economic and trade cooperation. China has established new bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanisms with Jordan and Kyrgyzstan, expanding the number of "Silk Road e-commerce" partner countries to 38. The theme activity of "Silk Road E-commerce Benefiting the World" continues to advance, and high-quality products from partner countries continue to enrich the domestic consumer market. The China Iceland E-commerce Week has driven local specialty skincare and health products to sell over 10 million yuan to China. According to business big data monitoring, the online retail sales of Kazakhstan camel milk, Kenyan coffee beans, and Argentine steak increased by 308.2%, 80.9%, and 36.3% respectively from January to August.