Against the backdrop of accelerating the construction of new development paradigm of “dual circulation”, how to fully leverage the advantages of supersized market scale and effectively expand domestic demand has become a key issue at present. At the same time, the digital economy is having a profound impact on promoting consumption improvement and expansion. Therefore, studying the impact of the digital economy development on releasing the consumption potential of residents and its mechanism is of great significance for boosting consumption, enhancing the fundamental role of consumption in economic growth, and promoting high-quality economic development. This paper first defines the connotation of consumption potential based on the “guarantee theory”, and believes that it refers to the potential consumption demand hidden in consumers that has not yet been released. It is a comprehensive reflection of the consumption demand that residents have already shown and that needs to be guided and created. Its size is mainly affected by the residents’ own consumption level and ability, as well as the external consumption environment. Then, this paper searches for the influencing factors that support and guarantee consumption potential from both the demand and supply sides, and constructs an evaluation system of residents’ consumption potential indicators that includes four dimensions: monetary payment ability, consumption cognitive ability, current consumption expenditure, and consumption environment. Using panel data from 31 provinces from 2008 to 2020, it examines the impact and mechanism of the digital economy development on the consumption potential of residents. The study finds that: First, the development of the digital economy is conducive to releasing the consumption potential of residents, and this promoting effect has a more significant impact on high-income, highly-educated, and eastern residents. Second, there are two effects in the development of the digital economy: One is the digital dividend effect, which promotes the release of residents’ consumption potential by improving the income level and promoting innovation in the consumption method; the other is the digital divide effect, which hinders the release of residents’ consumption potential by widening the digital divide. Third, the development of the digital economy has a single threshold effect on the consumption potential of residents based on income structure and education funding. The conclusions provide important reference for formulating relevant policies to guide the digital economy to promote the release of consumption potential and alleviate the digital divide effect.