Characteristics and Reasons of the Rapid Growth of Consumer Goods Retail in April

In April, the retail sales of consumer goods continued to maintain a trend of steady and rapid growth. The total retail sales of consumer goods was 1,151 billion yuan, an increase of 18.5% year-on-year and an acceleration of 3.7% over the same period last year. The relevant person in charge of the National Bureau of Statistics pointed out that in April consumer goods retail showed three characteristics: the urban market was significantly faster than the rural market; the growth of catering income was accelerating, and the retail of goods was relatively stable; and there was no obvious change in the growth point of market sales. The person in charge pointed out that since this year, the main reason for the steady and rapid growth of my country's consumer goods retail is the continued improvement of the macro economy and the rapid growth of the urban market. Last year, affected by the international financial crisis, urban market sales were relatively weak. From January to April, urban retail sales grew by 14.1% year-on-year, 0.9 percentage points lower than total retail sales. Since the beginning of this year, under the influence of the continued improvement of the macro economy, the urban market has maintained rapid growth, supporting the steady growth of the consumer goods market. From January to April, the urban market was 3 percentage points faster than the rural market. At the same time, the effectiveness of the consumption promotion policy has not diminished. Under the environment of vigorous promotion by merchants, related products continue to sell well, forming a relatively stable growth point. For example, in April, among the retail sales of enterprises (units) above designated size, the automobile category increased by 36.9% year-on-year, which drove the retail sales above designated size to increase by 10.6 percentage points, with a contribution rate of 33.8%; petroleum and products increased by 43.1% year-on-year, driving 7.6 Percentage points, a contribution rate of 24.3%; household appliances increased by 34.3% year-on-year, driving 2.3 percentage points, a contribution rate of 7.2%. In addition, the increase in retail prices of commodities has a certain boosting effect on retail sales. The continuous increase in retail prices in recent months has amplified the nominal growth rate of retail sales. Source: Economic Daily