Retail sales of consumer goods in China rose 10.4 percent year-on-year in 2016, the same as the growth in the first three quarters, according to government data released on Friday, Jan. 18.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that retail sales grew 9.6 percent year-on-year, less the price factors, with total retail sales of consumer goods reaching about 33.23 trillion yuan ($4.84 trillion), the Xinhua News Agency reported.
The data also indicated that rural areas have strong potential for consumption, with retail sales growing at 10.9 percent, which surpassed urban areas with 10.4 percent.
According to NBS, sales of communication equipment and housing good grew rapidly. Sales of communication equipment rose 11.9 percent year-on-year, furniture sales by 12 percent, while sales of building and decorating materials shot up 14 percent.
Last year, the catering industry also earned 3.58 trillion yuan in revenue, an increase of 10.8 percent year-on-year, while online sales surged 26.2 percent year-on-year, hitting 5.16 trillion yuan.
Per capita spending posted a nominal growth of 8.9 percent year-on-year, amounting to 17,111 yuan but deducting the price factors, the real growth was 6.8 percent. The nominal growth of retail sales in December was 10.9 percent year-on-year, which was slightly higher than the increase in November at 10.8 percent.
The country's economic growth could be attributed to the rise in retail sales as a result of China's shift from an export-driven economy to a consumer society.
NBS said that in 2016, consumption has contributed about 64.6 percent to the country's economic expansion.
China posted an economic growth of 6.7 percent last year, which was with the government's growth target of 6.5 percent to 7 percent for the year.
The country's retail sales growth is expected to rise by 10.2 percent year-on-year in 2017, and exceed 37 million, to boost China's economic growth by more than 70 percent this year, a report by the China General Chamber of Commerce said.