Retail sales to catch up to growth rate: Expert

China's total retail sales of consumer goods will catch up to its growth rate in 2019, and is likely to achieve double-digit growth, thanks to the government's favorable policy and the huge market, an expert said Wednesday.

Ren Xingzhou, research fellow and former director-general at the Institute for Market Economy under the Development Research Center of the State Council, said during the forum held by the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, "In 2018, the nation's total retail sales of consumer goods is expected to reach 40 trillion yuan ($5.86 trillion), and its growth rate in December was merely 8.1 percent."

Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in the first quarter of 2018, the growth rate of China's total retail sales of consumer goods was 10.1 percent. However, later on, the growth rate dropped to lower than 10 percent.

"In 2019, the growth rate will likely pick up," Ren said.

For the automobile and home appliance sectors, whose sales slowdown in 2018 dragged the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods, according to Ren, in 2019 the government will launch relevant policies to stimulate consumption.

She also noted that consumption upgrade will continue in 2019. "No matter products at which level, their quality will increase. Also, products will be safer and more environmentally-friendly."

"And consumption classification will continue, because Chinese customers are of different salary levels, different ages, and different cultural regions. Enterprises should classify their products according to customers' features, to win their hearts," Ren said.

Zhao Ping, director of the Department of International Trade Research at the academy, noted, "Consumption upgrade is an inevitable trend in China. In addition, the market will be more defined, and personalization and diversity will be the main trends."

"The innovation process of both commodity consumption and service consumption will be accelerated, generating more consumption growth points. Online and offline retail sales will develop synchronously, offering a better consumer experience.

"For the governmental aspect, the introduction of employment policy, income policy and tax policy will enhance the public's consumption ability, and thus the growth rate of China's total retail sales of consumer goods will catch up," she added. "We should be confident about China's consumption sector in 2019."