Nanyang consumer retail sales grow in H1

Retail sales of consumer goods in Nanyang reached 80.59 billion yuan ($12.1 billion) in the first half of the year, up 11.7 percent on the same period in 2016.

The figures put Nanyang in third position for retail sales in Henan province, according to the Nanyang Municipal Statistics Bureau.

Of the total, retail sales in urban areas accounted for 58.57 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent, while sales in rural areas increased by 11.5 percent to reach 22.02 billion yuan.

Although the urban market continues to play a leading role with a larger share at 72.7 percent in total, its rural counterpart showed no sign of weakness, enjoying a further expansion thanks to improving living standards.

The regional data also shows that hotels and the catering industry are driving growth in the consumer market, taking up 13.8 percent of total retail sales.