
Customers line up to purchase gold jewelry at a gold shop in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province, on February 26, 2026. Photo: VCG
China’s retail sector maintained relatively fast growth during the nine-day Spring Festival holiday that concluded on Monday, with the average daily retail sales of gold, silver and other jewelry products rising 33.4 percent year-on-year, the most recent figures have shown, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday.
According to data released by the China General Chamber of Commerce, the average daily retail sales by 100 key large-scale retail enterprises nationwide increased by 24 percent year-on-year, indicating the sustained release of consumption potential.
Amid the traditional peak season for gold consumption, the average daily retail sales of gold, silver, and other jewelry products during the Spring Festival holiday rose by 33.4 percent year-on-year. Notably, in recent years, the trend of “reverse Spring Festival travel” – family members in their hometowns traveling to their loved ones’ work cities for the Chinese New Year – has driven a surge in sales of gold, silver, and jewelry products in first-tier cities, according to CCTV.
In addition, strong demand for holiday gatherings and related activities spurred significant growth in sales of relevant products, with the average daily retail sales of food increasing by 23.0 percent year-on-year. Driven by demand for returning home to visit relatives and festival renewal needs, the average daily retail sales of clothing rose by 17.3 percent year-on-year.
Additionally, the trade-in policy enabled the average daily retail sales of communication equipment to maintain double-digit year-on-year growth.
Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, attributed the rapid growth in nationwide retail sales during the holiday to the joint effect of multiple factors, including the extended holiday and supportive policies to boost consumption and improve the consumption environment.
“In particular, investors’ positive outlook on prices of precious metals such as gold and silver prompted the relatively strong performance in gold, silver and jewelry sales,” Li told the Global Times on Thursday.
Chinese authorities rolled out a series of policy measures to unlock consumption potential during the Spring Festival holiday, as domestic demand remains a key engine for economic growth.
Global Times


















