The head of the Consumer Promotion Department of the Ministry of Commerce discusses the situation of China's consumer market in September 2025

Since the beginning of this year, commerce authorities at all levels have conscientiously implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, deeply implemented the special action to boost consumption, promoted the exchange of old for new consumer goods, promoted the high-quality development of service consumption, carried out the "Buy in China" series of activities, and continuously released the potential of diversified consumption. In September, the overall operation of the consumer market remained stable, with the following main characteristics:

One is that the role of the main consumer engine is further highlighted. In September, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 420 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.0%. In the first three quarters, the total amount of social retail was 36.59 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.5%, with a growth rate 1.0 percentage point faster than the whole year of last year; The per capita consumption expenditure of residents was 21600 yuan, an increase of 4.6%; The contribution rate of final consumption expenditure to economic growth is 53.5%.

The second is the continuous effectiveness of exchanging old for new consumer goods. In September, the retail sales of goods increased by 3.3%, with sales of goods related to trade in maintaining rapid growth. Among them, the retail sales of communication equipment, furniture, and cultural office supplies for units above designated size increased by 16.2%, 16.2%, and 6.2% respectively. The retail sales of passenger cars reached 2.241 million units, an increase of 6.3%. As of October 22, the number of applications for car trade in subsidies in 2025 has exceeded 10 million.

Thirdly, service consumption has maintained a rapid growth. In the first three quarters, the retail sales of services increased by 5.2%, which was 0.6 percentage points faster than the retail sales of goods. Among them, the retail sales of cultural and leisure services, communication and information services, tourism consulting and rental services, and transportation services achieved double-digit growth. The proportion of resident service consumption expenditure to resident consumption expenditure is 46.8%.

The fourth is the continuous growth of new types of consumption such as intelligence and green. According to the business big data of the Ministry of Commerce, sales of smart wearable devices and floor cleaning robots increased by over 15% in September, while sales of energy-saving dishwashers and organic food increased by over 10%. According to data from the Automobile Circulation Association, the retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 1.296 million units, an increase of 15.5%, with a penetration rate of 57.8%.

Fifth, the scale of inbound consumption continues to expand. The coordinated efforts to expand the scope of visa free travel and optimize exit tax refunds have led to a continuous increase in the popularity of "China Tour" and "China Purchase". According to data from the National Immigration Bureau, there were 2013.4 million inbound and outbound foreign visitors in the third quarter, an increase of 22.3%, including 7.246 million visa free foreign visitors, an increase of 48.3%.