How does digital literacy promote rural residents’ consumption?

Boosting rural residents’ consumption is an urgent requirement for expanding domestic demand, stabilizing growth, and promoting economic circulation. Particularly against the backdrop of digital village construction, the improvement of farmers’ digital literacy provides a crucial lever for expanding the rural consumption market and activating its potential. Based on data from the 2022 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS), this study constructs a digital literacy indicator system for rural households and investigates the impact of digital literacy on rural residents’consumption and its underlying mechanisms. The research finds that digital literacy can significantly promote rural residents’ consumption, particularly enhancing basic consumption. However, its impact on developmental consumption, enjoyment consumption, and the Engel coefficient is not evident. Currently, the influence of digital literacy on rural residents’ consumption is mainly reflected in consumption increment rather than structural upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the impact of digital literacy on rural residents’ consumption presents an “inclusiveness” feature, that is, digital literacy has a more significant role in promoting the consumption of rural residents with low-educated, middle-aged and elderly populations, and those in relatively underdeveloped areas. Mechanism tests indicate that digital literacy primarily promotes rural residents’ consumption through three pathways: enhancing farmers’ information access, increasing household income, and improving consumption attitudes. This research findings provide beneficial insights for enhancing the digital literacy of rural residents and unleashing rural consumption potential.