According to statistics released by Jingzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce on July 12, Jingzhou registered total consumer goods retail sales of 57.442 billion yuan from January to May, ranking 4th in Hubei Province, up 44.9 percent year on year, 4.5 percent above the province's average. Jingzhou's total retail sales of consumer goods are expected to reach 71 billion yuan in the first half of 2021, up approximately 40 percent year on year.

According to an analysis of Jingzhou's business and economic situation, Jingzhou's consumer market showed three features:

The consumer market grew steadily. Jingzhou's sales of basic living necessities restored steadily from January to May: cereal, oil and foodstuff sales, beverage sales and daily necessities sales were up 56.9 percent, 33.8 percent and 34.8 percent year on year respectively; upgraded commodities gained a strong momentum: sales of upgraded commodities such as new energy vehicles, smart phones, communication devices and furniture were up 58.3 percent, 49.4 percent, 65.4 percent and 86.6 percent year on year respectively; the auto consumption market rebounded: automotive commodity sales stood at 3.075 billion yuan, up 60.1 percent year on year; online consumption developed rapidly: enterprises above the designated limit achieved online retail sales of 345 million yuan, up 118.2 percent year on year, showing residents' enthusiasm about online shopping remained strong.

The foreign trade structure improved constantly. There were 182 enterprises with export performance in Jingzhou from January to May, up 22 year on year. Of these enterprises, 95 achieved export growth. Exports of industries such as light textile, medicare, chemical and electromechanical industry were up 109.1 percent, 67 percent and 47.1 percent year on year respectively. Exports to Europe and America continued to lead: exports to North America, Europe, Jingzhou's largest export destination-Asia and other markets were up 125.1 percent, 72.7 percent, 62.6 percent and 49.5 percent year on year respectively.

Actually used foreign investment increased considerably. Foreign investors' confidence grew: three foreign-invested projects in Jingzhou increased the total contractual investment by 50.49 million U.S. dollars. Investment flowed to key industries: in terms of industry, actually used foreign investment in manufacturing was 146.34 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 94.8 percent of the total; in terms of area, the foreign investment actually used by Jingzhou Economic & Technological Development Zone accounted for 80.3 percent of Jingzhou's total. Foreign investment promotion was advanced steadily: Jingzhou signed four foreign-invested projects in the first half of 2021, with a total investment of 1.15 billion yuan.