China H1 online sales of home appliances up 16.9%

The stand of Sichuan Changhong Electric Co Ltd at an international consumer electronics expo in Berlin, Germany. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's online sales value of home appliances saw robust growth in the first six months, according to a report released Wednesday by the China Center for Information Industry Development.

The report showed that online business-to-customer sales of home appliances on the Chinese market hit 216 billion yuan ($32 billion) in the first half of 2017, up 16.9 percent year on year.

The online sales value accounted for nearly one-third of the country's total home appliance sales, the report said.

The traditional "big four home appliances" - flat panel TV, air conditioner, refrigerator and washing machine - remained popular among online consumers.

Air cleaners, water purifiers and dish washers were also among the bestsellers.

"The commodity structure has optimized with the sales increase of smart and high-end goods," said Hu Yan with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, showcasing the result of China's ongoing supply-side structural reform.

Sales of domestic brands performed better than foreign competitors.