Thousands of tourists admire the exquisite stone carvings at the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan province, on Saturday evening. LI WEICHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY

　　Brisk spending during the ongoing National Day holiday in China has made for an encouraging start to the fourth quarter, with continued policy support expected to sustain the improvement in consumer demand in the months ahead, experts said on Monday.

　　Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that during the first three days of the holiday (Oct 1-3), sales at 78 pedestrian shopping streets and commercial districts monitored by the ministry rose 5.3 percent year-on-year, outpacing a 3.4 percent increase in the number of visitors.

　　The consumer goods trade-in program generated another positive snapshot, supporting 19.63 billion yuan ($2.93 billion) in sales during the period.

　　Under the program, automobile trade-ins totaled 46,000 vehicles, driving 7.45 billion yuan in new car sales; home appliances trade-ins reached 1.51 million units, generating 6.5 billion yuan; and digital and smart product purchases hit 1.709 million units, contributing 4.9 billion yuan, according to the ministry.

　　Offshore duty-free shopping also put up a strong showing. According to Haikou Customs, from Oct 1 to 3, duty-free sales totaled 358 million yuan in Hainan province, with 55,100 shoppers purchasing 277,000 items, an increase of 8.85 percent, 12.9 percent and 8 percent, respectively, compared with the same period in 2025.

　　Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the holiday spending was driven by a strong consumer willingness to purchase.

　　He said the growth in services consumption marks a market upgrade, as it is a sign of a mature consumption market structure.