Until We Drop: Beijingers Named China's Biggest Shoppers in 2015

Beijing isn't China's wealthiest city, but for the eighth consecutive year, Beijingers have bought more than their counterparts elsewhere in the country, according to the Beijing Statistics Bureau.

Sales of consumer goods increased over 2014 by 7.3 percent, and for the first time exceeded RMB 1 trillion. Most shocking is that according to said bureau, 82.6 percent of all consumer goods sales in Beijing took place online. We find that hard to believe, but it is encouraging older and more traditional brands to move more of their sales operations online, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

Beijing shoppers accounted for 70 percent of the city's gross domestic product (GDP) via their consumption, which makes us wonder slightly about the health of the rest of Beijing's economy, although obviously this has never been a major manufacturing hub.

Although Beijing's 7.3 percent consumer spending growth was the highest in China last year, overall consumer spending grew nationally by 10.7 percent, and accounted for more than 66 percent of the national GDP.

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