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

In October, driven by the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, the consumer market maintained a steady growth trend, and the consumption potential continued to be released. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the total retail sales of consumer goods in that month amounted to 4.63 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. From January to October, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 41.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.3%, with a growth rate 0.8 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

One is the steady growth of commodity consumption. In October, the retail sales of goods increased by 2.8%, with sales of goods related to trade in maintaining rapid growth. Among them, the retail sales of communication equipment, cultural office supplies, and furniture for units above designated size increased by 23.2%, 13.5%, and 9.6%, respectively. The consumption of basic daily necessities has grown rapidly, with retail sales of grain, oil, food, clothing, shoes, and hats increasing by 9.1% and 6.3% respectively. The demand for upgraded goods is strong, with retail sales of gold, silver, jewelry, sports and entertainment products, and cosmetics increasing by 37.6%, 10.1%, and 9.6% respectively.

Secondly, the growth trend of service consumption is good. From January to October, the service retail sales increased by 5.3% year-on-year, with a growth rate 0.1 percentage points faster than the previous three quarters and 0.9 percentage points faster than the commodity retail sales. Driven by the demand for holiday travel, the retail sales of tourism consulting and rental services, transportation services, and cultural and leisure services have all maintained a rapid growth rate of over 10%. In October, catering revenue increased by 3.8%, with a growth rate 2.9 percentage points faster than in September. Inbound tourism continues to be hot, with 751000 foreign visitors during the National Day and Mid Autumn Festival holidays, an increase of 19.8%.

The third is the rapid growth of new consumption. According to the business big data of the Ministry of Commerce, in October, sales of smart health devices on key monitoring platforms increased by over 20%, sales of smart wearable devices increased by about 4%, sales of some first level energy-efficient home appliances increased by over 10%, and sales of organic food increased by over 8%. According to data from the Automobile Circulation Association, the retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles increased by 7.3% in October, with a penetration rate of 57.2%. From January to October, the online retail sales of physical goods increased by 6.3%.

Fourthly, rural consumption is faster than urban consumption. County level consumption continues to expand, and the sinking market is full of vitality. In October, the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas increased by 4.1%, which was 1.4 percentage points faster than that in urban areas; From January to October, the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas increased by 4.6%, which was 0.4 percentage points faster than that in urban areas.