CN: Retail Sales

Highlights
March retail sales were up a monthly 0.73 percent and were up 10.1 percent from a year ago above the forecast of 9.9 percent. Urban retail sales were up 9.9 percent after increasing 0.7 percent for the combined months of January and February. Rural retail sales were up 10.9 percent after 10.7 percent.

Most major categories rebounded in March from their combined January and February readings. Clothing was up 11.2 percent after 7.7 percent. Household nondurables were up 16.9 percent after 10.1 percent. Cosmetics jumped 22.7 percent after 12.5 percent. However, communications equipment sales edged up only 1.6 percent after increasing 10.7 percent and auto sales edged up 3.5 percent after 9.7 percent.

Definition
Retail Sales measure goods that are sold to the consumer or end-user, generally in small quantities and in the state in which they were purchased by the retailer. China's retail sales are reported monthly. The critical value is the change from the same month in the previous year.

Description
Retail sales tend to have a muted impact because the Chinese economy is not heavily reliant on consumer spending. However, the government is trying to stimulate consumer spending to give the economy more balance. To this end, the government put into place a basket of stimulus measures, including government subsidies and tax breaks for home appliances and cars, to expand consumption to sustain the economic growth, which was slowed by a slump in exports amid the global economic downturn.