ECONOMY

China Retail Sales Miss Forecasts as Households Remain Cautious

Published: Apr. 16, 2026 1:49 p.m. GMT+8

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Consumption slowed in China at the end of the first quarter, as weaker income growth and a declining propensity to spend pointed to fragile domestic demand.

Retail sales of consumer goods rose 1.7% year-on-year in March, missing the 2.2% average forecast in a Caixin survey and slowing from the first two months of the year, official data showed Thursday.

China Retail Sales Growth Slows

For the first quarter, retail sales of consumer goods grew 2.4%, decelerating from 4.6% a year earlier. Services consumption, measured by a separate retail sales indicator, continued to outperform, rising 5.5%.

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Explore the story in 30 seconds

China's retail sales grew 1.7% YoY in March, missing 2.2% forecast; Q1 growth slowed to 2.4% from 4.6% year ago.
Services consumption rose 5.5%; goods sales fell: appliances -5%, furniture -8.7%, autos -11.8% amid fading policy support.
Disposable income +4% (lagging 5% GDP growth), spending +2.6%; propensity to consume dropped to 62.2%, lowest Q1 in 3 years.

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