BEIJING — China has poured subsidies worth some 50 trillion won into stimulating consumption, yet sales of home appliances fell 20%.
Appliance sales under the trade-in program, which subsidizes replacement of aging products, totaled 100.99 million units in the first nine months of this year, down about 20% from 126 million units a year earlier, the Ministry of Commerce said on the 27th. Sales of digital and smart products, by contrast, rose 37% to 120.6 million transactions.
Beijing has run the trade-in program since 2024 to lift replacement demand for cars, home appliances and other goods. After allocating 150 billion yuan (about 30 trillion won) in 2024, the government doubled the support to 300 billion yuan last year. This year the figure was trimmed slightly to 250 billion yuan.
Analysts say the policy is delivering less of a boost than before as replacement demand thins in the program's third year. A slump in the property market has also curbed appliance demand by reducing the number of households moving home. China's domestic demand has remained weak for several years. The consumer price index, a gauge of domestic consumption, rose just 0.9% in September, below the 1.0% increase expected in a Reuters poll.