The retail sector has been the main driver of Poland's sustained economic growth in the last several years. It is a reflection of the scale of the country's improvement in terms of income levels, job security and overall quality of life. The GVA of the total trade sector as classified by the Statistics Office came to around 15.7% of GDP in 2017. The retail sector employs around 18% of the country's workforce and the value of retail sales was equal to around 40% of Poland’s GDP in 2016.

China’s retail sector continued to grow in Q2 2018, although the pace of growth slowed down to 3.7% y/y. The sector was driven by strong domestic consumption which contributed 78.5% to the country’s economic growth in the first half of 2018. High consumption was largely a result of rising incomes, with disposable income per capita increasing by 8.7% y/y to RMB 6,248 in Q2 2018. The most dynamic growth was registered in the premium goods and services segment. Online retail generated RMB 2,149bn in sales of consumer goods and services, up by 26.2% y/y, with sales of consumer goods alone going up by 27.9% y/y to RMB 1,671bn. The quarter was characterised by increased implementation of new retail and internet technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, and augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR), aimed to stimulate consumption. In May 2018, Alibaba’s Tmall and Intersport Co Ltd set up a partnership on integrating their physical and online operations through implementation of digital technologies. In Q2 2018, online retailers continued to combine their online and offline operations. Alibaba expanded its Hema branded grocery chain, while JD.Com signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Lushang Group on unbounded retail development in Shandong province. In terms of retail formats, sales of convenience stores, supermarkets and department stores increased by 7.6%, 4.5% and 1.6% y/y respectively, in the first half of 2018.