People visit the booth of iCAR during the China Motor Show (Tianjin) 2025 in North China's Tianjin, Sept 30, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

In its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China will position the retail sector as a pivotal force in building a robust domestic demand system, steering it toward a quality-oriented and services-oriented model for high-quality development, a commerce official said on Tuesday.

While the retail sector is key to boosting consumption and driving sustained economic recovery, further improvements are still needed in areas such as network layout, supply-demand matching, and online-offline balance, according to Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping.

Businesses in the retail sector should win over consumers with high-quality products and services, and learn good practices from enterprises like Pangdonglai -- an influential retail chain operating supermarkets, shopping malls and cinemas -- to accelerate transformation and upgrading, Sheng said.

New business models and shopping experiences should be developed to a greater extent in lower-tier markets to unlock their consumption potential, he said.

He also noted the importance of the deeper integration of online and offline consumption, as well as the need to fully leverage the decisive role of the market in resource allocation.

Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the retail sector has made significant contributions to boosting both consumption and investment. In 2024, China's retail sales of consumer goods climbed 3.5 percent year on year.