Quality Life Week raises 5b yuan in sales

Quality Life Week wrapped up on Friday with an estimates 5 billion yuan (US$704 million) in sales both online and offline, government authorities said. 

More than 10,000 livestreams and 338 key activities have been staged since it was launched on Saturday as a crucial part of the city’s economic revival initiative. 

Top selling categories include beauty, clothing, food, home decoration and cultural and tourism. 

The week had five themes — Beauty In Fashion, Beauty In Youth, Beauty Of Classics, Beauty At Home and Beauty Explored.

Landmark tourism attractions were popular with shoppers, with, for example, more than 8,000 meals at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower’s revolving restaurant selling out in an hour. 

Hosted by the publicity department of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism and Shanghai Commerce Commission, the event mobilized local retailers and digital sites to offer discounts for goods, services, visits to cultural spots and experiences. 

The event also evolved around the core idea of high quality development, with a focus on the cultural consumption landscape at offline spaces and covered a wide range of industry chains and scenarios in the city. 

It also fully leveraged the city's digital companies' technology capabilities and new development momentum to explore how they could help boost spending and revitalize the economy.  

Shoppers were also eager to grab discounts for local museums, art installation sites, fashion destinations and steamed buns as quarantine restrictions gradually loosened. 

Online influencers such as those on lifestyle-sharing and e-commerce app RED and video-sharing site Bilibili also hit the streets and took viewers to scenic spots and cultural relics, exploring different ways to shop and enjoy their leisure time.

Travel sites, agricultural products growers and district heads took to livestreaming to promote great deals. 

In May, Shanghai's offline retail sales reached 144.3 billion yuan, which was close to the same level last year. 

The city's online retail sales also rose to nearly 100 billion yuan with physical goods sales picking up 13 percent. 

The amount of sales from livestreaming channels over the Labor Day holiday also jumped 4.6 times from a year earlier.