Double Five shopping gala boosts Shanghai's consumption

The two-month Shanghai Double Five Shopping Festival concluded with great success, largely boosting the city's consumption and contributing to its development as an international consumption center.

In the period ranging from April 29 to June 30, the average daily offline consumption was 7.13 billion yuan (US$991.4 million), an increase of 16.2 percent compared to last year's shopping festival period. While the average daily online retail sales rose 16.6 percent year on year to reach 4.77 billion yuan.

The festival has helped promote the development of quality new consumption and new commercial formats, with strong growth seen in product categories such as food, clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry, according to the city's commission of commerce.

Sales and foot traffic also saw significant growth during the festival, with the 250 large commercial enterprises monitored by the city's business development research center witnessing a 6.7 percent gain in total sales from a year earlier and passenger flow surging 19.4 percent.

Key commercial areas such as Zhongshan Park, Middle Ring (Zhenbei), and Wujiaochang all showed high growth rates, of 66.5 percent, 44.5 percent and 23.8 percent, respectively.

In terms of key product categories, food, clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry sales all recorded double-digit growth during the festival compared to the same period last year, separately up by 39.1 percent, 34.1 percent, 32.1 percent and 11.6 percent.

During the festival, external tourism and destination-based consumption also saw a significant increase, with spending by external tourists during the Labor Day and Dragon Boat Festival holidays jumping, respectively, by 19.3 percent and 22.8 percent compared to 2019.

The shopping festival also saw the introduction of innovative measures and policies to boost consumption, such as subsidies for new energy vehicles and green smart appliances, as well as the establishment of industry management systems.

Shanghai will continue to promote consumption and stimulate the development of the consumption market throughout the year, said Liu Min, deputy director of the city's Commission of Commerce.

A series of events and activities are planned around important seasons and festivals, with a focus on keeping the consumption market hot and full of highlights, she added.

The first of these events is the Summer Consumption Season (July-August), which is already under way. It will focus on meeting the demand for summer leisure, family activities, and the back-to-school season, with a series of summer-themed activities that involve the business, culture, tourism, and sports industries.

Following that will be the Autumn Shopping and Tourism Season (September-October), which will combine with the Shanghai Tourism Festival, and encourage the collaboration of key commercial areas, leisure streets, and tourist attractions.

The Embracing the CIIE Season (from mid-October to mid-November), which will be held in conjunction with the 6th China International Import Expo and other major exhibitions, is to involve various sports and cultural events and feature special activities such as new product launches of local brands.

In addition, there is the Online Shopping Carnival Season (from mid-November to mid-December) to promote live streaming e-commerce and drive consumption growth, as well as the New Year's Shopping Season (from mid-December to mid-February 2024) focusing on creating a joyful and peaceful festive atmosphere.