According to the Zhitong Finance APP, on January 24, the head of the Department of Circulation Development of the Ministry of Commerce discussed the development of China's wholesale and retail industry in 2024. It was introduced that in 2024, the central government will increase support for the sales of 8 major categories of home appliances through trade-in programs, aiming for sales of over 60 million units, directly driving consumption by more than 260 billion yuan. In addition, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas will reach 6.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, with a growth rate 0.9 percentage points higher than that of urban areas. Rural e-commerce is thriving. Business data shows that in 2024, the national rural online retail sales will increase by 6.4% year-on-year, while the online retail sales of agricultural products will increase by 15.8% year-on-year.

The original text is as follows:

The head of the Department of Circulation Development of the Ministry of Commerce discusses the development of China's wholesale and retail industry in 2024

In 2024, the Ministry of Commerce will deeply implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, accelerate the improvement of the modern commercial circulation system, and adopt multiple measures to promote the development of the wholesale and retail industry. China's wholesale and retail industry is generally stable and progressing, providing strong support for expanding domestic demand and building a new development pattern.

The overall development of the industry is positive, and its contribution to the economy is becoming more prominent. From the perspective of industry added value, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the added value of the wholesale and retail industry will reach 13.8 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%, accounting for 10.2% of GDP. From the perspective of industry entities, according to data from the fifth national economic census, the number of legal entities in the wholesale and retail industry reached 10.197 million, and the number of individual businesses reached 44.791 million, both the highest among all industries. In terms of employment, according to data from the fifth national economic census, the number of employees in legal entities of the wholesale and retail industry is 53.258 million, accounting for 12.4% of the total number of employees in legal entities, second only to the manufacturing industry; the number of employees in individual businesses in the wholesale and retail industry is 82.241 million, accounting for 45.8% of the total number of employees in individual businesses, ranking first among all industries.

The market operation is basically stable, and most formats maintain growth. In terms of wholesale, in 2024, the transaction volume of key commodity markets monitored by the Ministry of Commerce increased by 4% year-on-year, with the transaction volume of production materials and industrial consumer goods markets increasing by 8.4% and 3.7% year-on-year, respectively. In terms of retail, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the retail sales of consumer goods will reach 43.2 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%. Among retail units above the designated size, convenience stores, specialty stores, and supermarkets maintained a growth trend, increasing by 4.7%, 4.2%, and 2.7% year-on-year, respectively.

Urban and rural markets remain active, with steady growth in consumer traffic. Urban commerce is developing steadily. In 2024, the foot traffic in 50 pedestrian streets and commercial circles monitored by the Ministry of Commerce increased by 5.7% year-on-year. A total of 5,188 convenient living circles have been built in 210 pilot areas of urban convenience living circles, with 1.371 million stores constructed or renovated, creating employment for over 7.32 million people and serving nearly 120 million residents. County-level commerce is vibrant. The Ministry of Commerce continues to promote the "thousand markets and ten thousand stores" renovation, upgrading and transforming 5,856 commercial centers in county towns and townships, and 53,000 village-level convenience service stores. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas will reach 6.7 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.3%, with a growth rate 0.9 percentage points higher than that of urban areas Rural e-commerce is booming. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, in 2024, the national rural online retail sales increased by 6.4% year-on-year, and the online retail sales of agricultural products increased by 15.8% year-on-year.

The effectiveness of the old-for-new program is significant, and domestic "trendy products" are widely favored. The old-for-new program for home appliances has achieved positive results. In 2024, the central government increased support for the old-for-new program for 8 major categories of home appliances, achieving sales of over 60 million units, directly driving consumption by over 260 billion yuan. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, the retail sales of household appliances and audio-visual equipment in above-designated-size enterprises exceeded 1 trillion yuan, setting a new historical high. The old-for-new program for electric bicycles continues to advance. A total of 43,000 sales stores nationwide participated in the old-for-new program for electric bicycles, holding a cumulative total of 3,902 events and exchanging for 1.38 million new vehicles. Time-honored brand products are very popular. In 2024, a total of 347 "Time-Honored Brand Carnival" themed events were held across the country, driving online and offline sales of 21.74 billion yuan. The number of stores for Chinese time-honored brands on major e-commerce platforms is nearly 60,000, achieving sales of nearly 90 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.9%.

This article is compiled from the official website of the Ministry of Commerce, edited by Liu Jiayin from Zhitong Finance.