A shopping mall at Xinjiekou business district in Nanjing (Photo/CFP)

An analysis of the Q1 economic data shows that cities including Nanjing, Hefei, Xuzhou, Wenzhou and Jinhua ranked higher in retail sales of consumer goods than in GDP, indicating stronger consumer spending.

Nanjing surpassed Suzhou in retail sales, ranking second only to Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta region.

In 2024, Suzhou’s total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded one trillion yuan, becoming the seventh city in China to cross this consumption threshold.

Sales of new energy vehicles saw particularly strong growth, with Nanjing up by 128.7% and Jinhua by 120.1%. Robust consumer demand was also observed in categories such as smartphones, wearable electronic devices, furniture, jewelry, and sporting and entertainment goods across multiple cities.