Chinese retail sales rose 3.5 percent on the year for January and February combined, rebounding from a decline of 1.8 percent in December and matching the consensus forecast. This follows a significant relaxation of public health restrictions by Chinese authorities late 2022. Separate year-over-year data for January and February are not published because of the impact of differences in the timing of lunar new year holidays from year to year. In month-over-month terms, retail sales fell 0.02 percent in February.

Retail sales in urban areas and rural areas rose 3.4 percent and 2.9 percent respectively on the year in the first two months of the year. Solid year-over-year increases were recorded in most categories of spending, with food sales outperforming with an increase of 9.0 percent.

After falling 1.8 percent in December, year-over-year sales in the January and February combined period are expected to rise 3.5 percent.

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.

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.