China Retail Sales YoY

China's retail sales rose by 3.7% year-on-year in December 2024, accelerating from November's 3-month low of 3.0% and exceeding market consensus of 3.5%. Sales growth was observed for grain, oil, and food (9.9% vs 10.1% in November); tobacco and alcohol (10.4% vs -3.1%); clothing, shoes, hats, and textile products (0.8% vs -4.5%); cosmetics (0.8% vs -26.4%); personal care (6.3% vs 1.3%); sports and entertainment products (16.7% vs 3.5%); household appliances (39.3% vs 22.2%); office supplies (9.1% vs -5.9%); and automobiles (0.5% vs 6.6%). In contrast, sales further declined for beverages (-8.5% vs -4.3%); jewelry (-1.0% vs -5.9%); petroleum products (-2.8% vs -7.1%); and Chinese and Western medicine (-0.9% vs -2.7%). Considering the whole year, retail turnover rose by 3.5%. Meanwhile, online retail turnover increased by 7.2% in 2024, with sales of goods growing by 6.5%, particularly food, clothing, and personal care, representing 26.8% of the total retail trade of consumer goods.