On April 17, the National Bureau of Statistics released the first-quarter economic data [1]. Affected by the COVID-19, in the first quarter, the main economic indicators fell noticeably, but in March, the main economic indicators rebounded, allowing the economy to claw back some lost ground. This momentum is expected to continue into the second quarter and fuel further economic growth.
General overview
| Economic indicators | March (YOY) | Q1 (YOY) |
| GDP | / | 20.6504 trillion yuan -6.8% |
| CPI | 4.3% | 4.9% |
| Total retail sales of consumer goods | -15.8% The decine was 4.7 percentage points narrower than that in January-February | 7.858 trillion yuan -19.0% |
| National per capita disposable income | / | 8561 yuan -3.9% |
| Export | -3.5% | -11.4% |
| Import | 2.4% | -0.7% |
| Trade surplus | 139.42 billion yuan | 98.33 billion yuan |
Data source: the National Bureau of Statistics
Market performance
Food consumption grew steadily.
In the first quarter, national per capita expenditure on food, tobacco, and alcohol was 1,708 yuan, an increase of 2.1%. Per capita spending on home cooked meals increased by 15.5%. Consumption of rice, flour, grain, oils, vegetables, meat, poultry, and eggs all grew.
Per capita spending on vegetables increased by 20.8%
Per capita, spending on meat increased by 31.9%
Per capita, spending on poultry increased by 30.3%
Per capita, spending on eggs increased by 24.4%
Anti-epidemic product sales grew rapidly.
In the first quarter, the national per capita spending on washing and sanitation products increased by 27.2%. The national per capita expenditure on medical appliances and medicines increased by 3.8%, of which expenditure on medical equipment such as masks increased by 4.2 times.
Online consumption showed strong momentum.
From January to March, the online retail sales of physical goods nationwide increased by 5.9% year-on-year, accounting for 23.6% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, an increase of 5.4 percentage points over the same period last year. The number of people purchasing goods or services via the Internet increased by 21.2% year-on-year.
In addition, investment in e-commerce services rose by 39.6%. Both Alibaba and JD.com showed remarkable sales growth. Alibaba's penetration rate increased significantly by 7.4 percentage points to 38.6%. JD.com followed closely, with its penetration rate increasing by 4.8 percentage points [2]. O2O platforms (including retailers' own platforms, third-party platforms such as Fresh Hema and Ele. me) grew rapidly in the first quarter.
Live-streaming driving growth.
The excellent performance of new consumption channels such as Taobao live streaming was a highlight in Q1. In February, the number of new merchants using Taobao live streaming increased by 719% month-on-month, and in March, it tripled from a year earlier, with the number of transaction orders increasing by more than 160% year on year [3]. The number of registered live streaming-related companies reached a 10-year high, an increase of 115% over the same period in 2019 [4].
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