China online retail sales steadily expand in first 10 months

A florist hosts a live streaming show at a flower field in Qujing, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 12, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's online retail sales logged steady growth in the first 10 months of 2023, with livestreaming e-commerce gaining steam, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

In the January-October period, online retail sales of physical goods nationwide rose 11.2 percent year on year to 12.3 trillion yuan (about 1.72 trillion U.S. dollars), contributing 32.1 percent to China's retail sales growth, said the ministry.

During the period, sales of livestreaming e-commerce exceeded 2.2 trillion yuan, surging 58.9 percent year on year and driving the growth of online retail sales by 7.5 percentage points, it said.

In the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday last month, daily average online sales in sectors of accommodation, tourism, entertainment and catering increased by 133.7 percent, 123.1 percent, 82.1 percent and 19.7 percent year on year, respectively, according to the ministry. ■