China's consumer spending slows again in Aug as auto, property weakness weigh on growth

In August 2026, China's retail consumption momentum weakened further. Total retail sales of consumer goods slowed again, falling short of market expectations, as the lingering effects of demand brought forward by earlier policy support, continued weakness in automobile and property-related consumption, and other headwinds weighed on overall spending.

Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on September 15 showed that total retail sales of consumer goods rose 0.4% year on year in August, slowing by 0.2 percentage point from the previous month. Excluding automobiles, retail sales grew 2.5% year on year, unchanged from July. On a