Photo: VCG

China's online and offline consumer market achieved impressive results during the "618" (June 18) shopping promotion festival, reflecting the vigorous development of China's economy.

JD.com, one of China's largest e-commerce platforms, broke its own record last year with sales of 159.2 billion yuan. Wal-Mart, Yonghui and CenturyMarket achieved four times, five times and seven times, respectively, the sales of the same period last year on JD Daojia, an O2O platform.

"The rapid growth of online [business] and the accelerated integration of online and offline business have become a new highlight in China's consumption field", said Zhao Ping, director of the Department of International Trade Research at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The steady and rapid growth of the domestic consumer market and consumption upgrade play a vital role in economic stability, Zhao noted.

According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May, sales of consumer goods approached 15 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.5 percent. The sales of retail enterprises monitored by the Ministry of Commerce increased  by 4.6 percent, accelerating by 0.2 percentage over the same period last year. "In general, China's consumer market is growing rapidly and the market level continues to expand," Zhao said.

The acceleration of consumption is also reflected in the structural changes in commodity consumption. The proportion of daily necessities is declining, while the proportion of higher-grade consumer goods is rising.

Analysts credit the booming consumer market to innovations in the market. Zhao pointed out that the deepening supply side structural reform makes producers focus more on innovation. Producers provide higher quality products and better services based on consumer demand, thus injecting new vitality to the consumption market.

Sectors focusing on new products will contribute more to economic growth, Zhao added. China's consumer demand is full of potential. Consumption will maintain a steady and rapid growth and continue to play a key role in economic development.