Consumption maintained stable growth during China's week-long National Day holiday that lasted from October 1 to 7, with consumption upgrades still gaining momentum, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Sunday.
The combined sales of the retail and catering industries across the country reached 1.4 trillion yuan (about 200 billion US dollars) over the week, with the daily average sales up 9.5 percent compared with the same period last year.
Consumption upgrades continue
During the golden week, sales boomed for organic food, clothing, jewelry, ultra high definition (UHD) televisions, smartphones, smart home products, green home materials, and automobiles.
Key business enterprises monitored by MOFCOM in provinces such as Shaanxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Hubei have all reported a sales growth above 11 percent.
Burgeoning new consumption models
Emerging consumption models such as online shopping and food ordering, customized travel, shared homestays and mobile payments flourished, said MOFCOM.
During the first six days of the holiday, the transaction volume of some e-commerce platforms increased by more than 20 percent year-on-year, and the number of orders some online catering platforms received climbed more than 50 percent year-on-year.
Orders for shared homestays received by some online rental platforms surged five fold year-on-year, and some online travel service providers witnessed an increase of more than 50 percent in sales of customized trips.
Tourism booming?
Tourism continued to be a highlight of Golden Week consumption. The country's scenic spots received 726 million visits from domestic travelers during the holiday, up 9.43 percent year-on-year.
Tourism revenue generated over the period rose 9.04 percent to 5.99 billion yuan (870 million U.S. dollars), fresh data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed Sunday.
