Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 5 (Reporter Pan Jie) With the increasing expansion of the policy of exchanging the old-for-new consumer goods policy and continuing to show results, my country's consumer market has been operating steadily and improving since the beginning of the year. In the first two months of this year, market sales growth accelerated, consumer demand for transportation, culture, sports and leisure continued to be released, and service retail sales maintained steady growth.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that from January to February, the total retail sales of consumer goods was 837.31 billion yuan, an increase of 4.0% year-on-year, a growth rate of 0.5 percentage points faster than the whole year of the previous year. Among them, retail sales of goods increased by 3.9%, accelerating by 0.7 percentage points. By urban and rural perspective, the retail sales of rural consumer goods increased by 4.6% year-on-year, 0.8 percentage points higher than that of urban and urban areas, and the potential of rural consumer market continued to be released.

The service consumption market is also showing a stable development trend, with residents' cultural tourism and leisure activities going out to the public, and the retail sales of travel-related services growing rapidly. From January to February, service retail sales increased by 4.9% year-on-year, 1 percentage point higher than commodity retail sales. Among them, the retail sales of tourism consulting rental services and transportation services achieved double-digit growth year-on-year; catering revenue increased by 4.3%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from December last year.

As residents' living standards gradually improve, the awareness of green environmental protection, health and wellness consumption has been continuously enhanced, and the sales of green upgraded goods have achieved rapid growth. From January to February, the retail sales of sports and entertainment products in units above the limit increased by 25% year-on-year, accelerating by 13.9 percentage points over the whole year of the previous year. The sales of high-efficiency-grade home appliances and smart home appliances in household appliances and audio-visual equipment have continued to maintain a rapid growth trend.

In addition, physical store retail continues to improve, and online consumption demand continues to be released. From January to February, the retail sales of physical stores in retail industries above the limit increased by 2.8% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.9 percentage points over the whole year of the previous year. Among them, the retail sales of warehousing member stores represented by excellent quality and good experience maintained double-digit growth, and the retail sales of convenience stores with more instant retail sales increased by 9.8%. E-commerce platforms continue to deepen the application of digital technology, expand new consumption scenarios, and stimulate online consumption demand. From January to February, online retail sales increased by 7.3% year-on-year.