Fast-movingconsumergoodssalesinurbanChinagrew1.5percentyear-on-yearin2025,saidKantarWorldpanelChina,amarketingresearchinstitute,signalingsteadygrowthintheretailsectorwhereconsumptionpatternsareevolving.

TheNationalBureauofStatisticssaidfinalconsumptionexpenditureaccountedfor52percentofthecountry'seconomicgrowthin2025,up5percentagepointsfromthepreviousyear.

RetailgiantWalmartChinaconsolidateditspositionasaleaderintheChineseretailmarketlastyear.ThecompanypostedstrongperformanceintheChinesemarketinitslatestquarterlyearnings,withnetsalesreaching$6.1billioninthefourthquarterof2025,a19.3percentincreasefromthesameperiodin2024.

DespiteadelayedSpringFestivalseasoninFebruary,whichtypicallyboostsretailactivity,Walmartrecordeda10.7percentgrowthincomparablesales,drivenbystrongmomentumfromitsSam'sClubmembershipbusinessande-commerce.

Sam'sClubcontinuestopostdouble-digitgrowthintransactions.Thewarehousechain,whichfocusesonhigh-end,bulk-sellingproductsformiddle-incomeurbanfamilies,opened10newstoresinthepast12months,includingsixinthemostrecentquarter.Thecompanywasoperating63clubsasofJanuary.

Itse-commercebusinesssawa28percentyear-on-yearincreaseinthefourthquarter,nowaccountingforover50percentoftheretailer'stotalsales.

ForfiscalyearendedJan31,2026,Walmart'stotalglobalrevenuereached$713.2billion,up4.7percentyear-on-year,withadjustedoperatingprofitincreasing5.4percentto$31.1billion.

ItcontinuestofocusoninnovationandgrowthinChina,andrecentlypartneredwithRedNote,aleadingsocialmediaplatforminthecountry.

Thecollaborationaimstoco-createnewproductsandcustomershoppingexperiences.Thetwosidesrecentlylaunchedaco-brandedproductlineandopenedanewretailspaceatWalmart'sShekoulocationinShenzhen,Guangdongprovince.Thispartnershipsignifiesthecompany'scommitmenttointegratingsocialcommerceanddigitalengagementintoitsphysicalretailstrategy.

Additionally,WalmartisacceleratingtherolloutofitscommunitystoresmodelbyopeningfournewstoresinShenzheninFebruary.Themoveisaimedaturbanmiddle-incomeconsumerswithfastaccesstohigh-qualityproductsandconvenience.

Meanwhile,theretailer'sexpansionofitsprivatelabel,Marketside,alsoalignswithchangingconsumerpreferencesforfreshandhigh-qualityproductsatcompetitiveprices.Theprivatelabel—whichemphasizessimplicity,collaborationwithtopsuppliersandaprice-to-qualityratio—nowincludesnearly1,000newproductsincategorieslikefreshproduce,foodandbeverages,Walmartsaid.

RetailersinChinaareincreasinglyfocusedondifferentiationthroughdevelopingprivatebrands.In2025,thepenetrationrateofprivatelabelsreached56.8percent,anincreaseofmorethan11percentagepointscomparedtothepreviousyear,saidWorldpanel.Thistrendisparticularlyevidentinsmallercities,wheredemandforprivatelabelshassurged,outpacinggrowthinlargerurbanmarkets.

Freshippo,ownedbyAlibaba,hasbeenexpandingaggressivelywithadual-formatstrategycombiningtraditionalsupermarketswiththeinnovativeFreshippoNBmodel.In2025,Freshippoachievedapenetrationrateof12.9percent,Worldpanelsaid.

Meanwhile,JD.com's7FreshsupermarketchaincontinuestoexpanditsfootprintinNorthChinathroughahybridmodel,whichcombinesphysicalretaillocationswiththeconvenienceoflocalwarehousecenters.Thismodelenabledtheretailertoextenditsreachandincreaseitsmarketpenetrationby0.7percentagepointin2025.

Discountformatsalsoremainafavoredchoiceforconsumers.ThelatestWorldpanelreportsaidthatpenetrationratesforbulksnackstoresanddiscountshopsincreasedby4.8and2.9percentagepoints,respectively,in2025.

Aldi,forinstance,hasrampedupitsexpansioneffortsintheYangtzeRiverDelta,withitspenetrationrateinEastChinaincreasingby2.2percentagepoints.TheGermanretailerplanstoopen100storesinChinabytheendofthefirstquarterof2026.

Lookingahead,itisexpectedthattheexpansionoftheconsumerbasewillserveasacriticalengineforgrowth.Moreover,thefocuson"products"hasshiftedfromlarge-scaledisplaystodemandadaptation.Retailersarebuildingexclusiveadvantagesbydevelopingtheirprivatelabels.Ontheotherhand,brandsneedtocreateproductportfoliostailoredtospecificscenarios.

"Channelsarenolongermerelycarriersforshelfdisplay,buthavebecomekeyhubsconnectingconsumersandproducts,"saidWorldpanel,addingthatfoodandbeveragecategoriesledthegrowth,withannualsalesincreasingby3.6percentand3.1percent,respectively.In2025,thehouseholdcleaningandpersonalcarecategoriesbothachievedgrowth,whiledairyproductsfaceddualpressuresintermsofbothsalesandvolumegrowth.

FrenchfoodandbeverageproducerDanonepostedstrongmomentuminChina,NorthAsiaandOceaniainthefourthquarter,withsalesup10.4percentlike-for-like.Specializednutritioncontinuedtogrowstrongly,equallydrivenbyinfantmilkformulaandmedicalnutrition.ThecompanyalsohadasolidperformanceinitswaterbusinessinChinalastyear.