Retail sales rise 10.4% in 2016 as large enterprises see improvement: MOFCOM

China’s retail industry grew steadily with rising sales and profits in 2016, although reforms in the sector still faced challenges, an official report said on Monday.

Retail sales reached 29.7 trillion yuan ($ 4.8 trillion), up 10.4 percent on a yearly basis, according to an industry development report for 2016/ 2017 released by the Ministry of Commerce ( MOFCOM).

The number of businesses in the sector rose 5.2 percent to about 18 million in 2016, the report said, adding that the sales of convenience stores, shopping malls and supermarkets jumped faster than those of other retail businesses, growing 7.7 percent, 7.4 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.

Since the second half of last year, the sales of large retail en- terprises have improved markedly and physical stores have begun to see signs of a structural rebound, according to the MOFCOM report.

The report said that challenges persist, such as imbalanced development of business networks and structural overcapacity.

“Retailers also face much pressure from the rising costs of logistics, rent and labor,” the report said.

The domestic retail market is expected to optimize its market order and the innovative transformation of traditional business forms should be further enhanced, the MOFCOM report noted.

In 2017, domestic retailers will strengthen efforts to integrate online and offline markets and offer one- stop services through multi- format coopera- tion, according to the ministry.

China’s retail industry will maintain stable and relatively fast growth momentum in 2017, while the quality, benefits and service levels improve, the MOFCOM report said.