Zhejiang’s consumption market logs steady growth

The value of Zhejiang's consumption market hit a record high of 3.05 trillion yuan ($448.05 billion) at the end of 2022, latest figures from the Provincial Bureau of Statistics show.

The value was a 4.3 percent increase compared to the previous year. The cumulative growth rate was 4.5 percentage points higher than the national average.

Urban areas in Zhejiang saw a 4.5 percent increase in the retail sales of consumer goods, which amounted to 2.59 trillion yuan. Meanwhile, retail sales of consumer goods in rural areas increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year to 452.67 billion yuan.

In terms of consumption categories, merchandise retail sales rose by 5 percent to reach 2.73 trillion yuan, while revenue from catering services decreased by 1 percent to 318.71 billion yuan. The retail sales of foodstuffs and textiles saw significant increases of 10.2 percent and 13 percent respectively. Additionally, online retail sales reached 315.25 billion yuan, a year-over-year increase of 19.8 percent.

Demand for service consumption, particularly in the hospitality and catering sectors, also grew in 2022. The turnover in the hospitality sector increased by 0.8 percent over the previous year, with the growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2022 being 1.2 percentage points higher than the previous three quarters. Catering turnover grew by 4.7 percent and had growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2022 that was 0.1 percentage points higher than the previous three quarters.