From January to June 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB17.2 trillion (US$2.5 trillion), up by 10.4 per cent year-on-year

In June 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods in China reached RMB3.9 trillion (US$440 billion), up by 11.0 per cenr year-on-year, China Internet Watch is reporting. That is approximately the same amount Greece was loaned over a five year period for its bailout (US$440 billion), meaning the amount of money Chinese consumer spent on consumer goods for one month equals what Greece spent in five years.

From January to June 2017, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB17.2 trillion (US$2.5 trillion), up by 10.4 per cent year-on-year. In the first six months of 2017, China’s national online retail sales of goods and services was RMB3.1 trillion (US$459 billion), an increase of 33.4 per cent year-on-year and accounting for over 18 per cent of total retail sales.

As Chinese consumers’ spending largely depends on mobile payments, a total of US$3 trillion in transactions using AliPay and WeChat Pay was recorded in 2016. The online retail sales of physical goods were RMB2.3 trillion (US$340 billion), an increase of 28.6 per cent, accounting for 13.8 per cent of the total retail sales of consumer goods.

This indicates a huge market for luxury brands and consumer facing startups to open online retail market and adopt mobile payment options.

Also Read: Alibaba to facilitate cross-border e-commerce trade between Malaysia and China

Monthly growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods in China. Image Credit: China Internet Watch

From January to June, the retail sales of consumer goods in China’s urban areas was RMB14.7 trillion (US$2.1 trillion) up by 10.1 per cent, year-on-year; while that in rural areas was RMB2.4 trillion (US$355 billion), up by 12.3 per cent, year-on-year.

China now sees a new stream of unmanned stores started out by both early stage startup and internet giant. China’s unmanned convenience store BingoBox received RMB100 million (US$14 million) in a Series A from GGV Capital, with its plans to reach 5,000 stores by the end of this year. Alibaba also featured its cashier-less concept shop in July, powered by its face recognition technology.

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The article China online retail sees rapid growth in the first half of 2017 first appeared in TechNode.

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