Consumption surges during Lunar New Year holiday week

China saw robust consumption during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday week, which ran from Jan 27 to Feb 2, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Sales revenue during this period topped 840 billion yuan ($140 billion) in the retail and catering industries, an 11.4 percent increase from last year.

Apart from the continuously growing sales of folk culture products, home appliances, digital products and jewelry, the entertainment and leisure sectors also saw growth.

"Online grocery shopping, online meal take-away, personally tailored tours and shared services have also seen significant boosts," said Gao Hucheng, Minister of Commerce.

The holiday season has significantly stimulated the supply and demand of festival goods.

Both wholesale and retail markets have expanded their stocks, especially of foods, oils, meat, vegetables, dairy products and daily commodities, while various sales promotion events, both online and offline, have successfully raised sales.

For example, Beijing hosted a market of products from Tianjin, Hebei province and Beijing. It also offered the opportunity for companies from provinces such as Shaanxi, Henan and Sichuan to introduce their high quality products to the palates of Beijing people.

Embracing the Chinese zodiac year of the rooster, gold and silver jewelry with rooster elements have been a hit.

For enterprises in Gansu, Hebei and Anhui provinces, sales of roosters-related jewelry have increased by 15 percent, 12 percent and 10.8 percent respectively on a year-on-year basis, according to analysis by the Ministry of Commerce.

"This indicates an upgrading trend in Chinese people's shopping habits. The growing acceptance of healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle has accelerated the sales of local products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and healthcare products," said He Jingtong, a professor of consumption studies at Nankai University in Tianjin.

Digital products, including smartphones and tablets, were the black horses in the market during the Spring Festival sales. In the New-Mark department store in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, the sales of telecommunications products saw a leap of 66.7 percent.

Spending in the entertainment and leisure sector has also expanded.

In the first four days of the national holiday, the national cinema ticket sales hit 2.4 billion yuan. Tickets of venues like the National Theatre and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center were also hot.

renxiaojin@chinadaily.com.cn