China's August YoY social consumer goods retail sales increased by 4.6%, with a turnaround in the automotive sector, which saw a YoY growth of 1.1%.

In August, China's social consumption rebounded, with petroleum and automobile retail reversing their decline, while housing consumption continued to weaken.

On September 15th, the National Bureau of Statistics released the following data:

In August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.7933 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%, exceeding the expected 3% and the previous value of 2.5%. Among them, the retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles reached 3.382 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.1%.

From January to August, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 30.2281 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.0%. Among them, the retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles reached 27.1888 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.2%.

Restaurant revenue in August continued to decline, while commodity retail accelerated its recovery

By location of the operating unit, in August, urban retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.2974 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%; rural retail sales of consumer goods reached 0.4959 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.3%. From January to August, urban retail sales of consumer goods reached 26.2426 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%; rural retail sales of consumer goods reached 3.9855 trillion yuan, an increase of 7.6%.

By type of consumption, in August, commodity retail reached 3.3721 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%; restaurant revenue reached 0.4212 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.4%. From January to August, commodity retail reached 26.9463 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%; restaurant revenue reached 3.2818 trillion yuan, an increase of 19.4%.

By retail format, from January to August, among retail units above the quota, convenience stores, specialty stores, brand stores, and department stores saw year-on-year growth rates of 7.3%, 4.1%, 3.1%, and 7.9% respectively, while supermarket sales decreased by 0.5%.

From January to August, the national online retail sales reached 9.5387 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.1%. Among them, the online retail sales of physical goods reached 7.9821 trillion yuan, an increase of 9.5%, accounting for 26.4% of the total retail sales of consumer goods. In terms of online retail sales of physical goods, the growth rates of food, clothing, and daily necessities were 8.4%, 10.9%, and 9.2% respectively.

Petroleum and automobile retail reverse their decline, while housing consumption continues to weaken

In commodity retail, automobile retail in August reached 0.4112 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.1%, reversing the 1.5% decline in July. From January to August, automobile retail increased by 4.9% year-on-year.

Retail sales of petroleum and related products reached 0.207 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.0%, reversing the 0.6% decline in July. From January to August, retail sales of petroleum and related products increased by 6.2% year-on-year. Housing-related consumer spending continues to weaken, with a YoY decline of 11.4% in August for the retail sales of construction and decoration materials, slightly widening the decrease compared to July.