During the July summer vacation, many tourists visited Beijing’s Palace Museum. (Photo/Li Xin)

Chongqing - A report released recently by the China Association for Small & Medium Commercial Enterprises and the Listen Data Research Institute shows Chinese consumer confidence rebounded moderately in Q3 2025, with home appliances, digital products, and travel topping spending plans for the next six months.

The report found a positive correlation between spending willingness and satisfaction with household finances: 26.5% of respondents showed strong spending intent, 58.1% were neutral, and 15.3% showed weak spending intent. Similarly, 30% rated their household finances as good, 54.5% as fair, and 15.5% as poor.

In terms of household expenditure structure, aside from daily necessities, the main allocations of disposable income were directed toward savings (49.6%), children’s education (45.7%), and travel (35.6%). The share of consumers choosing to spend on travel rose 1.2% quarter-on-quarter and 3% year-on-year.

President of the Listen Data Research Institute, Pan Jiancheng, noted that travel demand has shown continuous growth over the past eight quarters and has become an increasingly important engine driving consumption.

Travel spending remained resilient. While the proportion of consumers planning to spend on travel decreased by 1.6% from the previous quarter, it still increased by 0.3% year-over-year. The report noted that travel has become a long-term stable component of household expenditure, with only minor seasonal fluctuations.

The report indicated that 48.8% of consumers plan to spend on home appliances and digital products in the next six months, while 42.2% intend to spend on travel.

Although spending on home appliances and digital products declined by 1.7% from the previous quarter, it rose 4.2% year over year, maintaining the top ranking for three consecutive quarters.

Pan explained that this trend has been supported by China’s ongoing trade-in program for consumer goods, which has effectively stimulated demand for household and digital products. However, he also cautioned that the slight decline in Q3 may signal that the policy’s benefits are nearing a saturation point.

In contrast, auto consumption declined. Only 8.4% of respondents plan to purchase a vehicle in the next six months, down 1% quarter-on-quarter and 0.3% year-on-year — the lowest level since the survey began.

However, interest in new energy vehicles (NEVs) continues to rise. The proportion of consumers planning to buy pure electric vehicles reached 22.8%, up 2% from the previous quarter, while those preferring gasoline vehicles fell to 33.7%, down 1%.

Regarding brand preferences, domestic brands continued to strengthen their appeal. The data showed that 62.5% of prospective car buyers favored Chinese brands, up 1.2% from the previous quarter, reflecting the growing competitiveness of domestic manufacturers in the NEV and smart mobility sectors.