Brisk spending during the ongoing National Day holiday in China has made for an encouraging start to the fourth quarter, with continued policy support expected to sustain the improvement in consumer demand in the months ahead, experts said on Monday.
Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that during the first three days of the holiday (Oct 1-3), sales at 78 pedestrian shopping streets and commercial districts monitored by the ministry rose 5.3 percent year-on-year, outpacing a 3.4 percent increase in the number of visitors.
The consumer goods trade-in program generated another positive snapshot, supporting 19.63 billion yuan ($2.93 billion) in sales during the period.
Under the program, automobile trade-ins totaled 46,000 vehicles, driving 7.45 billion yuan in new car sales; home appliances trade-ins reached 1.51 million units, generating 6.5 billion yuan; and digital and smart product purchases hit 1.709 million units, contributing 4.9 billion yuan, according to the ministry.
Offshore duty-free shopping also put up a strong showing. According to Haikou Customs, from Oct 1 to 3, duty-free sales totaled 358 million yuan in Hainan province, with 55,100 shoppers purchasing 277,000 items, an increase of 8.85 percent, 12.9 percent and 8 percent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2025.
Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the holiday spending was driven by a strong consumer willingness to purchase.
He said the growth in services consumption marks a market upgrade, as it is a sign of a mature consumption market structure.
“There is a stronger demand for innovative products, as China”s vast population has a growing appetite for smarter shopping experiences,” Zhou said.
For example, at the Lanzhou International Auto Show held in Lanzhou, Gansu province, during the holiday, intelligent features were on full display. New energy vehicles integrated with AI drew particular attention. “Please activate the driver and passenger seat massage!””What’s the altitude here?” visitors could be heard asking as they interacted with in-car AI systems, experiencing advanced intelligent driving assistance. Zhang Shuwei, head of the organizing committee, said over 70 brands and 120 dealerships participated in the event, held in a space covering more than 40,000 square meters.
A combination of cutting-edge products and subsidies from dealers and manufacturers allowed buyers to compare their options and place orders on-site.
Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University of China’s Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said the holiday consumption data “demonstrates China’s economic vitality and domestic demand potential”. According to Liu, the figures point to an encouraging start to the fourth quarter, and the broader challenge would be to translate concentrated holiday demand into sustained household spending.
Government support for purchases and opportunities in service consumption offer scope for growth, she added.
For the fourth quarter, one concrete source of support is the latest allocation of trade-in funding. The National Development and Reform Commission said on Sept 30 that a fourth batch of 62.5 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bond funds had been allocated to local governments, bringing the full-year allocation for consumer goods trade-ins to 250 billion yuan. The funding provides a basis for continued subsidies through the year-end shopping season, which could be a strong catalyst for accelerated consumption, experts added.
Though the full third-quarter figures are yet to be released, latest available data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that retail sales rose 1.1 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, with growth of 0.4 percent in August. “A more durable consumption expansion will depend on improvements in employment and income expectations, alongside businesses’ ability to meet changing consumer needs,” Liu said.
masi@chinadaily.com.cn
