Automobiles, home appliances record surge in sales

China saw the sales of durable consumer goods including automobiles and home appliances notably rebound during the five-day May Day holiday, said a senior commerce official on Friday.

Affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, Wang Bingnan, vice-minister of commerce, said the sales of these products had been suppressed earlier this year.

Automobile sales of key companies monitored by the Ministry of Commerce in Shanghai, Chongqing and Zhejiang surged by 49.6 percent, 28.5 percent and 8.8 percent year-on-year, respectively, during the May Day holiday period, while the sales of home appliances on some e-commerce platforms doubled on a yearly basis, according to the ministry data.

The epidemic has also spurred the growth of online consumption sectors such as fresh-food e-commerce, online education and tele-medical care service, Wang noted.

To stabilize the country's consumption market, Wang said 28 provinces and municipalities have issued and dispensed more than 19 billion yuan ($2.69 billion) of consumer vouchers since the outbreak. These promotional measures have achieved encouraging results, boosting both people's confidence and consumption volume, Wang said.