China’s retail sales rose 2.9% YoY in October, reaching 4.63 trillion RMB ($638 billion), with cosmetics spending surging to a historic high. Cosmetics retail sales totaled 52.3 billion RMB ($7.2 billion) last month — a 9.6% annual increase and a 42.1% jump from September — setting a new October record. The strong performance was partly driven by the extended Double 11 (Singles’ Day) shopping festival, which started in early October, encouraging consumer stockpiling. However, growth slowed significantly from last year’s 40.1% surge, reflecting more rational shopping behavior. During this year’s Double 11 period, beauty and personal care online sales rose 8.2% across major platforms.