AsianFin -- China’s total retail sales of consumer goods grew 4.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, buoyed by policies encouraging replacement of old consumer products with new ones.

The figure outpaced the 2024 full-year growth rate by 1.1 percentage points. However, the upbeat national trend contrasted starkly with declines in the country’s two largest cities—Beijing and Shanghai.

According to data from local statistics bureaus, retail sales in Beijing fell 3.3% in Q1, widening from a 2.7% drop in 2024. Shanghai’s retail sales declined 1.1%, a narrower contraction than the 3.1% seen last year, but still in negative territory.

March alone saw national retail sales growth hit its highest monthly rate since 2024, yet Beijing’s retail sales plummeted 9.9% year-on-year—an abrupt deterioration of 9.8 percentage points compared to the January-February period.