China's Lunar New Year retail growth slows to 11%: Ministry

[SHANGHAI] Growth in China's retail sales during the Lunar New Year holidays slowed to 11 percent from 13.3 per cent during the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

China's retailers and caterers posted sales of 678 billion yuan (S$147 billion) over the Chinese New Year holiday period, between Feb 18 and Feb 24 this year, data from the ministry showed.

Retailing during China's most important holiday of the year has benefited from the growth of e-commerce and many businesses used online platforms such as WeChat and Weixin to promote holiday specials, the ministry said on its website.

REUTERS