China's retail sales growth slowed in December, capping a year of moderate expansion in household consumption, official data showed on Monday.
Total retail sales of consumer goods rose 0.9 percent year on year in December, down 0.4 percentage points from November, data from National Bureau of Statistics showed. For the full year, retail sales increased 3.7 percent, easing slightly from growth recorded in the first 11 months.
By category, goods retail sales rose 0.7 percent in December to 3.94 trillion yuan, while catering revenue increased 2.2 percent to 573.8 billion yuan, with both segments showing some moderation from the previous month.
Looking ahead to 2026, analysts said domestic consumption is expected to play a larger role in supporting growth. WANG Qing, chief macro analyst at Golden Credit Rating, expects fiscal funds earmarked for consumption stimulus to rise to around 500 billion yuan from about 300 billion yuan last year, alongside broader policy support for services consumption and measures aimed at strengthening household spending capacity.
