Total retail sales of consumer goods have declined while customer flow has increased. All the highlights of Hangzhou's commercial sector in Q3 are right here.
In the third quarter, the two industrial foundations of Hangzhou's digital economy and advanced manufacturing remained stable, while total retail sales of consumer goods declined slightly, and the overall consumer side was relatively calm. The trade-in programs and consumption coupons have not been withdrawn, but their marginal driving effect on total retail sales of consumer goods is weakening.
Driven by the three-year action plan of "City of Events, Paradise for Shopping", a number of pilot projects for the "Three New" consumption initiatives in Hangzhou have been implemented, focusing on leading digital consumption and high-end consumption innovation, with new tech products, high-quality foreign trade products and trendy domestic products starting to enter offline stores.
Whether in terms of the incremental market or the first-store economy, the performance of Hangzhou in Q3 is full of highlights.
In Q3 2026, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Hangzhou reached 212.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.8%; the average daily passenger flow of benchmark shopping malls was 19,700 people, a month-on-month increase of 1.32%; the vacancy rate was 6.4%, and the store opening-closing ratio rose to 1.13, showing that brands remain optimistic about the city's consumption potential; more than 120 high-quality first stores were newly opened, with high-energy-level brands accounting for 62%, and the first-store economy continued to develop in parallel in both scale and quality; 3 new standard shopping mall projects were added in this quarter, with a newly added floor area of 248,800 square meters, and the competition of stock commercial properties became increasingly fierce.
01
Commercial Overview
In the first three quarters, Hangzhou's GDP reached 1.8128 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%, 0.6 percentage points higher than the national average. However, the performance of Hangzhou's total retail sales of consumer goods is not optimistic. According to public data calculation, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Hangzhou in Q3 was 212.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.8%, and the overall consumption was relatively calm.
However, excluding the weakness of automobile consumption, the decline of total retail sales of consumer goods is mainly reflected in structural adjustment. Residents' willingness to consume has not disappeared, but is shifting from bulk optional consumption to experience-oriented, upgrading-oriented and emotion-oriented consumption.
In terms of stock and incremental performance, Hangzhou saw the opening of three commercial complexes in Q3, including Longfor Hangzhou Qianwan Paradise Walk, Hangzhou Xinjie Xinglong City, Hangzhou Jinsheng Chuangxiang City, etc., all of which are medium-sized shopping malls. Among them, Longfor Hangzhou Qianwan Paradise Walk was delivered with high quality, gathering more than 160 cooperative brands and filling the long-term lack of high-quality commercial supporting facilities in Xiasha Jiangbin area; Jindi Xinjie Xinglong City brought the first large-scale shopping mall in the plate, introducing more than 100 brands, relying on the transportation dividend of Metro Line 7 and the growing population base to accelerate the release of the commercial value of the plate.
The performance of vacancy rate and passenger flow is thought-provoking. Combined with the impact of the summer vacation, the average daily passenger flow of benchmark shopping malls in Hangzhou in Q3 was 19,700 people, a month-on-month increase of 1.32%, and the national passenger flow ranking rose to 12th. The vacancy rate of this quarter was 6.4%, down 3.71% month-on-month, but up 15.32% year-on-year, reflecting the annual periodic fluctuation.
The shopping mall popularity list released monthly by Winshang Co., Ltd. shows that the popularity of mass shopping malls remains unabated. In the July list, Mixc properties of CR Land such as Xiaoshan The Mixc and East Station The Mixc all ranked in the top 1 of the segment. Projects under China Resources Mixc Lifestyle, including Hangzhou The Mixc, Chengbei The Mixc and Hangzhou Center, have long been at the top of the list, making it the commercial management company with the most listed projects. The second is Longfor Commercial, whose properties including Longfor Hangzhou Binjiang Paradise Walk, Jinsha Paradise Walk, Xixi Paradise Walk and Zijing Paradise Walk remain highly popular.
In the August list, the ranking of top popular shopping malls fluctuated. Among them, Binjiang Baolong City surpassed Xiaoshan The Mixc for the first time and jumped to the top 1 of the segment; As the benchmark work of Jindi Commercial, Hangzhou Jindi T-ONE MO was on the list for the first time through stable operation; Hangzhou UnionPay CC, with its vertical positioning of two-dimensional culture and superior geographical location, saw its popularity rise and once again ranked in the top 5 of the segment. Hangzhou Intime Department Store (West Lake Store), which is also located in Hubin business district, also made its debut on the popularity list.
The September list shows that small-sized commercial complexes change rapidly. Among them, Hangzhou Huanglong International Center k-lab, through in-depth cultivation of customer groups in the region, saw its popularity rise again and directly ranked top 2 in its segment. The popularity of Hangzhou UnionPay CC and Hangzhou Jindi T-ONE MO remained stable; on the small and medium-sized track, Xiaoshan The Mixc returned to the top 1 of the segment with the opening of Zhejiang's first Jinlimen store. In addition, Hangzhou The Mixc saw its passenger flow rise rapidly with the influence of its 15th anniversary celebration, ranking second.
02
Brand Store Opening and Closing
In Q3 2026, the store opening-closing ratio of benchmark shopping malls in Hangzhou was 1.13, with more stores opening than closing, indicating that brands have high expectations for the Hangzhou market, and their willingness to expand stores year-on-year in 2025 is also increasing.
By business format, retail accounts for 43.64%, still ranking first, but the proportion declined month-on-month; the catering sector performed more actively, accounting for 36.36%, which is the main support for the activity of store opening and closing in this quarter.
According to the statistics of the number of opened stores, fashion lifestyle and clothing categories still favor Hangzhou. MOTARA CHOLIE opened its first store in Xixi Impression City in June, and quickly expanded to 5 shopping malls; AJIDOU also increased its outlets in Hangzhou and penetrated into emerging commercial complexes, following the path of gaining a firm foothold before further expansion.
Catering brands also have obvious preference for Hangzhou. Chain brands such as Da Ben Niu, Grid Coffee, Another Tea, Tongren Siji Coconut Chicken Hot Pot are accelerating their expansion in Hangzhou, focusing on increasing the density of catering for daily consumption and regional shopping malls; for characteristic catering, the East China's first store of Paalee settled in East Station The Mixc, soonsoo fried food restaurant entered Xixi Impression City, the two first stores of Gentle Pasta opened at the same time, and Daiban Japanese Cuisine entered Hubin Intime in77, all choosing locations in core business districts and benchmark projects. Whether in terms of scale or first-store level, the catering sector performed very actively in Q3.
03
First Store Map
In Q3 2026, more than 120 high-quality first stores were newly opened in Hangzhou, accounting for 5.5% of national first stores, and the proportion of high-energy-level first stores reached 42.2%; in terms of brand level, high-energy-level first stores (grade B and above) account for about 59%, including 2 S-grade brands, 21 A-grade brands and 54 B-grade brands, making efforts on both "quantity + quality" tracks and continuing to lead the country.
The more than 120 first stores cover a wide range of business formats, including five major categories of catering, retail, life services, children and parent-child, culture, sports and entertainment, as well as market blocks.
Catering has the largest number of first stores, accounting for 46%, with casual catering and exotic-style catering as the two main lines. In the casual catering track, American cinnamon roll brand CINNABON located its first Hangzhou store in Hangzhou The Mixc, with an open kitchen for on-site production and sales; the East China's first store of Paalee settled in East Station The Mixc, focusing on Guangxi fermented food and multi-ethnic flavors, which is different from conventional chain catering. Hangzhou Hang Lung Plaza received a number of catering first stores intensively from July to August, among which Yongfu Market is the national first store customized by Michelin-starred catering group Yongfu for Hang Lung, covering an area of 165 ㎡ with outdoor seating, operating as a casual Chinese Bistro; in the same period, first stores such as Xinjingxi · Beijing Mutton Hot Pot and Yenan Yobei also opened.
Among the segmented retail formats, clothing collection stores and beauty care stores' highlights focus on "designer collection" and "first store level": Fabrique's first Zhejiang store landed in Hangzhou The Mixc in September, taking "design workshop" as the space concept and introducing the global designer co-creation mode; LILYLIKES opened its national first store in Hangzhou Center, supporting the weight of the first store with the touchable experience of fabrics and versions. The location of beauty care stores pays more attention to customer group matching: the positioning of Australian organic skincare brand Origani matches the high-quality customer group of Hangzhou Hang Lung Plaza; Guibao Xiangju settled in Hangzhou Center in the core business district, positioning itself as oriental fragrance and utensil art, attracting a large number of young customers; EarthGlow chose Xixi Impression City, putting natural skincare in the daily traffic line of regional shopping malls.
04
Commercial Outlook
Although the total retail sales of consumer goods has declined, the passenger flow, store opening-closing ratio and number of first stores on the operation side remain rising. The supply side supplements the gaps in different districts rather than continuously increasing volume in core business districts. Hangzhou's retail commercial market still has exploitable space in emotion-oriented and experience-oriented consumption content.
Entering the last quarter of 2026, a number of heavyweight projects in Hangzhou's incremental market are highly anticipated, which is expected to activate a new round of consumption potential and new consumption scenarios. Hangzhou Kerry Centre will open at the end of the year, setting another municipal-level consumption benchmark; Hubin Intime in77 Zone A3 is regarded as the strategic upgrade of the project, opening on November 17; Linping Linghu Wanda Plaza, as Hangzhou's first POD+TOD commercial project, officially announced its official opening on December 30; Binjiang Paradise Walk is also scheduled for December, positioned as "Qiantang River South Aesthetic Life Center", responding to the regional residents who have waited for 16 years; Hangzhou Jinmao Joy City, with a floor area of 100,000 square meters, will be fully delivered as a large complex combined with the opened Qinwang Water Street in December. Hangzhou Jindi Yinhu Xinglong City has reached a strategic cooperation with Hangzhou Wildlife World, focusing on a natural exploration lifestyle center, which is planned to open on December 31, concentrating on enhancing the level of Fuyang business district.
Both the project side and the brand side are actively expanding and renewing, so is the policy side: with the trade-in programs supporting bulk consumption, the first-store and first-launch economy has established a two-level (municipal and district) support framework. The ticket economy driven by competitions, performances and exhibitions will continuously bring in non-local passenger flow in the future, jointly promoting the consumption power to expand in a wider and deeper direction.
This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Commercial Real Estate Observation", author: Wang Jing, published with authorization from 36Kr.