Data released by China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday shows that sales of embodied AI robots on key platforms surged 95.1% year-on-year in July. This robust growth highlights the accelerating momentum of emerging consumption categories within the broader retail landscape.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and services across China rose 2.6% in the first seven months of 2024. Retail sales of consumer goods reached 28.77 trillion yuan, marking a 1.2% increase, with sales excluding automobiles growing by a faster 2.7%.

In July alone, retail sales of goods increased by 0.5%. Sales of essential daily necessities remained steady, with grain and oil, beverages, and daily-use items from businesses above a designated size climbing 5.3%, 3.5%, and 1.8%, respectively. Certain upgraded consumer categories saw rapid expansion, as retail sales of communication equipment, cultural and office supplies, and cosmetics grew 20.4%, 7.4%, and 6.8%, respectively.

The service consumption sector demonstrated considerable vitality during the summer holiday season. Service retail sales grew 5% in the January-July period, consistently outpacing goods sales growth. Within this segment, catering revenue rose 2.6%, while retail sales of tourism consulting, leasing services, and cultural, sports, and leisure services each posted increases exceeding 10%. The summer box office proved especially strong, with total film revenue surpassing 5 billion yuan in July, up more than 20% year-on-year.

New forms of consumption are flourishing, propelled in part by trade-in programs for consumer goods that are driving demand for green and intelligent products. In July, the retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles reached 65.1%, setting another record high.

According to the Ministry's big data, sales of embodied AI robots on key platforms grew 95.1% in July, while exoskeleton assist devices saw a 39.5% increase, action cameras rose 24.7%, and robot vacuums climbed 19.4%.

Rural markets are also showing increasing strength. Retail sales in rural areas totaled 3.8 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 2.4% year-on-year, outpacing urban growth by 1.3 percentage points. A ministry official noted that consumption dynamics in county-level markets continue to strengthen, with combined county and township retail sales accounting for 39.1% of total consumer goods sales, up 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year.