The consumer market is significantly impacted by the epidemic
Basic living goods and online retailing maintained a good growth trend
——Fu Jiaqi, a statistician of the Department of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations of the National Bureau of Statistics, interprets the total retail sales of consumer goods in April
Affected by factors such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic, market sales dropped significantly in April. However, from January to April, the total retail sales of consumer goods was basically the same as that of the same period of the previous year, online consumer demand continued to release, basic living and some upgraded consumption grew well, and retail formats such as supermarkets and convenience stores grew steadily. The recovery trend of the consumer market has not changed.
1. The epidemic has a great short-term impact on the consumer market, and market sales have dropped significantly
In April, local epidemics occurred frequently, affecting most provinces across the country. Residents went out to shop and eat less, and the sales of non-essential commodities and the catering industry were significantly impacted. In April, the total retail sales of consumer goods fell by 11.1% year-on-year, of which retail sales of goods fell by 9.7%. The growth of the retail sales of travel commodities, whose market size accounts for a large proportion of the total retail sales of social consumer goods, has slowed down significantly, which has a greater impact on the consumer market. The retail sales of automobiles by units above designated size decreased by 31.6% year-on-year, and the growth rate of retail sales of petroleum and products dropped by 5.8 percentage points from the previous month. At the same time, industries such as accommodation and catering have been greatly affected. Catering revenue in April fell by 22.7% year-on-year, and revenue from rooms above designated size fell by more than 30%.
2. Online retail sales maintained growth, and the proportion of online consumption continued to increase
In response to the adverse impact of the epidemic, retail and catering companies have continued to develop online businesses, accelerated the development of contactless services such as Internet sales and food delivery, and actively met the diverse consumer needs of residents. From January to April, the national online retail sales of physical goods increased by 5.2% year-on-year, accounting for 23.8% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, 0.6 percentage points higher than that from January to March. Among them, the online retail sales of food and consumer goods closely related to residents’ lives increased by 12.9% and 6.3% year-on-year respectively, and the online retail sales of upgraded commodities such as gold, silver, jewelry and sports and entertainment products maintained rapid double-digit growth.
3. The retail sales of grain, oil and food commodities grew rapidly, and the demand for some upgraded consumer products continued to be released
The sales of basic living goods were significantly better than the overall. From January to April, the retail sales of grain, oil, food, beverages and daily necessities of units above designated size increased by 9.5%, 10.4% and 2.5% respectively year on year. From April, the retail sales of grain, oil, food and beverages of units above designated size increased by 10.0% and 6.0% year-on-year respectively.
The retail sales of some upgraded commodities showed a good growth momentum. From January to April, the retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment, cultural office supplies, and books, newspapers and magazines of units above the designated size increased by 2.4%, 6.7% and 8.6% year-on-year respectively, and the growth rate was higher than the retail sales of units above the designated size. The overall level.
4. Self-service retail formats such as supermarkets have grown slightly, and community retail stores have grown better
Affected by the epidemic, the daily activity radius of residents in some areas has been reduced, and self-service consumption with relatively high convenience and retail in community stores have maintained growth. From January to April, the retail sales of supermarkets and warehouse member stores above designated size increased by 3.6% and 8.5% year-on-year respectively, and the growth rate was 2.6 and 7.5 percentage points higher than the retail sales of goods above designated size. Grocery stores closely related to community consumption The retail sales of convenience stores and convenience stores increased by 2.4% and 6.8% year-on-year, respectively, 1.4 and 5.8 percentage points higher than the retail sales of units above designated size.
The obvious decline in market sales in April was mainly due to the short-term impact of the epidemic, but the expansion of household consumption and the upgrading of consumption structure will not change. Under the favorable conditions for the accelerated implementation of a series of policies and measures to promote consumption by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, with the effectiveness of the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the demand for goods and services will continue to be released, and the consumer market is expected to continue to resume growth.