The sharpest downturn in growth since the financialcrisis doesn't appear to have dampened the spirits of China's consumers too much.

Retail sales growth came in at a robust 14% on-year in the second quarter. A survey of sales of fast-moving consumer goods by market research firm Nielsen suggests the situation could be even better. Sales of the snacks, shampoo and toothpaste they track rose 17% on-year in the second quarter.

Behind the strong sales figures though, there are signs of unease on the high street.

The National Bureau of Statistics survey of consumersatisfaction came in at 93.3 in June, down from 97.1 in May and a lower level than in the financial crisis. A July survey by Market News International also found consumers in a despondent mood, and the reading on Nielsen's second-quarter confidence survey fell.

Underneath the deterioration in confidence is concern about the impact a slowdown in growth might have on the jobs market. Nielsen's survey showed consumers' expectations on income and employment fell slightly from the first quarter: 34% of respondents had a negative view on their income prospects in the second quarter, compared with 27% in the first quarter.

For retailers, China has become a key driver of growth, and any sign consumers are clicking their wallets closed is bad news. But dramaticvariation in firms' results so far this year - with checkouts working overtime at some and empty aisles at others - suggests it's competition that's having a bigger impact on sales than sluggish demand.

German luxury sportswear maker Hugo Boss AG reported Tuesday that its sales in China decelerated, growing just 1% on-year in the second quarter. Upscale handbag maker Coach Inc. meanwhile, reported the same day that its profit rose 24% for the quarter through June, driven in large measure by a 60% sales gain in China.

Whatever China's woes, with the economy still growing at a very respectable 7.6% on-year, consumers in Beijing and Shanghai remain considerably more confident than their counterparts in the U.S. Nielsen's U.S. consumer confidence index dropped to 89 in the second quarter from 92 in the first, signaling that Americans are very reluctant to spend.

Competition on China's high street is intensifying, but with sales in much of the rest of the world sluggish, retailers have little choice but to rise to the challenge.

Tom Orlik / Laurie Burkitt

• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• survey [´sə:vei]   vt.&n.俯瞰；审视；测量   (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ]   n.&vi.调查；探究；研究   (初中英语单词)
• bureau [´bjuərəu]   n.局；编辑部；事务所   (初中英语单词)
• satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən]   n.满意；满足   (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl]   a.国际的，世界的   (初中英语单词)
• reading [´ri:diŋ]   n.(阅)读；朗读；读物   (初中英语单词)
• income [´inkʌm]   n.收入，所得   (初中英语单词)
• employment [im´plɔimənt]   n.工作；职业；雇用   (初中英语单词)
• slightly [´slaitli]   ad.轻微地；细长的   (初中英语单词)
• dramatic [drə´mætik]   a.戏剧的；戏剧般的   (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)
• competition [,kɔmpi´tiʃən]   n.比赛；竞争   (初中英语单词)
• luxury [´lʌkʃəri]   n.奢侈(品)；享受   (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail]   n.&ad.其间；同时   (初中英语单词)
• driven [´driv(ə)n]   drive 的过去分词   (初中英语单词)
• measure [´meʒə]   n.量度；范围 vt.测量   (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi]   n.经济；机制；组织   (初中英语单词)
• crisis [´kraisis]   n.转折点；危机   (高中英语单词)
• consumer [kən´sju:mə]   n.消费者；用户   (高中英语单词)
• negative [´negətiv]   a.否定的 n.否定词   (高中英语单词)
• variation [,veəri´eiʃən]   n.变化；变动   (高中英语单词)
• respectable [ri´spektəbəl]   a.可敬的；有身价的   (高中英语单词)
• considerably [kən´sidərəbli]   ad.显著地；十分   (高中英语单词)
• confident [´kɔnfidənt]   a.有信心的，自信的   (高中英语单词)
• statistics [stə´tistiks]   n.统计学；统计   (英语四级单词)
• reluctant [ri´lʌktənt]   a.勉强的；难得到的   (英语四级单词)
• robust [rəu´bʌst]   a.强建的；茁壮的   (英语六级单词)
• toothpaste [´tu:θpeist]   n.牙膏   (英语六级单词)
• impact [´impækt]   n.影响，作用；冲击   (英语六级单词)
• sluggish [´slʌgiʃ]   a.呆滞的；偷懒的   (英语六级单词)