A consumption-driven economy is an economy driven by consumer spending as a significant share of its gross domestic product, as opposed to the other major components of GDP such as manufacturing, gross private domestic investment, government spending, and imports netted against exports. A consumption-drive economy is more sustainable in the long term and more friendly towards the environment.

One of the objectives of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone is to help rebalance the Chinese economy from a manufacturing-based and export-driven growth model into a consumer economy driven by consumer spending and service.