BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China's online retail sales have played a bigger role in boosting home appliances consumption, with e-commerce contributing over 50 percent of the total retail sales in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020, said a report released by the think tank CCID under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Total retail sales of home appliances stood at 120.4 billion yuan (about 17 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-March period, a marked decrease from the same period last year.

In Q1, large appliances logged slumping sales, while high-end and small appliances reported steady growth, according to the report.

Enterprises in the sector moved actively online in both sales channels and product layout, said the report, estimating a bigger proportion of online retail sales in the total.

With the gradual restoration of economic and social activities, the climate of the home appliances market will further improve and a new type of consumption pattern integrating online and offline channels will become mainstream, it said.

(Photo: Agencies)