Poster: China's retail sales up 2.8% in Jan-Feb 2026

China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 2.8% year on year in the first two months of 2026, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on March 16, 2026.

The pace was 1.9 percentage points faster than the growth recorded in December 2025.

The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 8.61 trillion yuan (about 1.25 trillion U.S. dollars) from January to February, according to the NBS.

Service retail sales grew by 5.6 percent year on year, accelerating by 0.1 percentage point from the full-year growth in 2025.

"Boosted by pro-consumption policies and an extended Spring Festival holiday, market sales have picked up notably since early this year, and the potential of service consumption was unlocked," said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui.

In the first two months, retail sales of travel agencies and rental services, as well as cultural, recreational and sports-related services, maintained a rapid year-on-year growth of over 10 percent.