In the first half year, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 5,871.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.0 percent.

In terms of different regions, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 3,983.3 billion yuan, rose by 14.4 percent year-on-year; that of at and below the county level achieved 1,887.8 billion yuan, up by 16.4 percent.

In terms of different industry sectors, the retail sales of wholesale and retail trades was 4,940.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.7 percent; that of accommodation and catering industry totaled 851.4 billion yuan, up by 18.1 percent; that of other industries was 79.1 billion yuan, up by 3.0 percent.

In terms of different commodity categories, the retail sales above designated size of wholesale and retail trades, divided by foodstuff, clothing and utilized commodities increased 13.1, 17.0 and 10.8 percent respectively. Of which, the retail sales for automobiles rose by 18.1 percent; that of commodities shot up by 14.0 percent; that of household appliances and AV equipments came up 5.1 percent; that of cosmetics jumped 17.2 percent; that of gold, silver, and jewelry ballooned 15.4 percent; that of cultural and offices appliances rose 3.7 percent; that of sports and entertainment supplies boomed 7.9 percent; that of garments went up 18.0 percent; that of cereals, oils and foodstuffs went up by 12.6 percent, of which, grain and oil promoted 11.2 percent, that of meat, poultry and eggs surged 10.6 percent; that of petroleum and related products grew 1.5 percent; while that of telecommunication equipments declined 7.0 percent.

(National Bureau of Statistics July 20, 2009)