BUSINESS

China’s Spring Festival Spending Rebounds on Stimulus Boost

Published: Feb. 24, 2026 10:55 p.m. GMT+8

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Consumers shop for mobile phones at a mall in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on Feb. 21, 2026. Photo: VCG

China’s consumer spending rebounded during this year’s Spring Festival break, buoyed by an extended holiday and fresh government stimulus that lifted outlays on services and technology.

Data released by the Ministry of Commerce showed that daily sales at key retail and catering enterprises rose 8.6% in the first four days of the holiday compared with the same period in 2025.

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China’s Spring Festival consumer spending rebounded, with retail and catering sales at key enterprises up 8.6% year-on-year in the first four days.
Government stimulus, vouchers, and special bonds boosted demand for services and smart products; wearable device sales rose 1.3-fold, and travel/dining saw robust growth.
Not all sectors recovered: box office revenue fell 40%, and baijiu sales declined by double digits.

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Who’s Who

Unitree Robotics: Unitree Robotics is a company whose appearance on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala contributed to a surge in interest in robotics. Following their broadcast, searches for robots on JD.com increased by 300% and orders rose by 150% compared to the previous period.

JD.com: JD.com, a major e-commerce platform, experienced a significant surge in interest for robots during the Spring Festival. Following their appearance on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, searches for robots on JD.com reportedly jumped by 300%, and orders increased by 150% compared to the previous period.

Fliggy: Fliggy is an online travel platform. During the Spring Festival holiday, Fliggy experienced a significant surge in bookings. Domestic tour bookings reached a record high, with hotel reservations increasing by 75% and ticket orders climbing by over 80%. This indicates strong growth in travel and service-related spending.

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What Happened When

Late 2025：: The Chinese government issued 62.5 billion yuan in ultra-long special sovereign bonds to support consumer goods trade-ins.

Feb. 15, 2026：: Start of China's 2026 Spring Festival holiday.

Feb. 15, 2026：: Sales of wearable devices jumped 1.3-fold on major e-commerce platforms.

Feb. 15, 2026：: Preorders for New Year Eve dinners on major platforms increased 80.7%.

First day of the 2026 Spring Festival holiday (Feb. 15, 2026)：: Hainan province's offshore duty-free sales jumped 135.8% year on year to 257 million yuan.

Feb. 15, 2026 to Feb. 22, 2026：: Shanghai recorded 60.35 billion yuan in total online and offline consumption, up 12.8% from a year earlier.

First four days of the 2026 Spring Festival holiday (Feb. 15–Feb. 18, 2026)：: Daily sales at key retail and catering enterprises rose 8.6% compared with the same period in 2025.

First seven days of the 2026 Spring Festival holiday (Feb. 15–Feb. 21, 2026)：: Hubei province posted an 11.6% rise in retail and catering sales to 30.55 billion yuan.

During the CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2026：: JD.com reported a 300% surge in searches for robots and a 150% increase in orders compared with the previous period.

AI generated, for reference only