China's retail sales of consumer goods saw a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 2.7 per cent in July, reaching nearly 3.78 trillion yuan (approximately $528.82 billion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This growth rate marks a 0.7 percentage point rise compared to June.

In July, retail sales in urban areas totalled approximately 3.27 trillion yuan, representing a 2.4 per cent YoY increase. Meanwhile, rural areas recorded retail sales of 506.6 billion yuan, marking a stronger growth of 4.6 per cent YoY.

Over the first seven months of the year, total retail sales climbed 3.5 per cent compared to the same period last year, surpassing 27.37 trillion yuan.

China's online retail sector continued its robust performance, with sales rising 9.5 per cent YoY during the first seven months of the year, bolstered by promotional activities and innovative e-commerce models. Sales of physical goods online increased by 8.7 per cent, accounting for 25.6 per cent of the total retail sales during this period, according to Chinese media reports.

In addition to retail sales, China's value-added industrial output, a key indicator of economic health, grew by 5.1 per cent YoY in July. On a monthly basis, the industrial output saw a slight increase of 0.35 per cent from June.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)