China reports surge in home appliance sales under trade-in program

BEIJING - The ongoing trade-in program for home appliances has led to a surge in sales revenues which topped 33.5 billion yuan ($4.78 billion) since August, the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed.

Since the ministry beefed up support for the program in August, around 5.11 million consumers have benefited from the program for which the central government has provided more than 6.4 billion yuan in subsidies for consumers, the MOC said on Monday.

MOC data showed that green and smart home appliances are favored by consumers, with products labeled with top-level energy efficiency accounting for 92.53 percent of the sales revenues during the period.

Chinese regions such as Hubei Province as well as Shanghai and Chongqing municipalities have expanded the categories of home appliances eligible for subsidies according to local conditions, incorporating green and intelligent products such as water purifiers, dishwashers and sweeping robots, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, online and offline market sales are both booming, with sales of eight major categories of home appliances in the online and offline markets surging 44.9 percent and 47 percent year-on-year, respectively, the ministry said, citing data from third-party data companies.

In the next step, the ministry will continue to encourage various regions to speed up the implementation of subsidy policies and guide home appliance manufacturers as well as distribution companies to seize the consumption boom periods such as the National Day holiday and "Double Eleven" so as to make a greater impact on consumption growth under the trade-in program, it said.

China's week-long National Day holiday, which begins on Oct 1, will be marked by a surge in travels and growth in retail sales. Meanwhile, the "Double-Eleven" festival, also known as the "Singles' Day" shopping festival, is a Chinese version of Black Friday when discounts and sales promotions are usually offered for consumers in the month of November.