Hundreds more events for shopping festival

The second Shanghai Double Five Shopping Festival has seen remarkable achievements so far, and is to hold a further over 400 activities.

Since the festival was launched on May 1, data have shown the huge potential and strong attraction of the Shanghai consumer market, the city's Commission of Commerce said.

Between May 1 and 15, the city’s online retail sales jumped 12.8 percent year on year to 61.69 billion yuan (US$9.58 billion), with the business volume of express deliveries in Shanghai reaching 146 million units, up 22 percent. 

Offline consumption amounted to 121.05 billion yuan, an increase of 10.4 percent from a year earlier, among which the city's 200 key large-scale commercial enterprises realized a total operating income of 16.69 billion yuan, up 27.9 percent from the previous quarter and up 15.9 percent from the same period last year. 

So far, 265 key events and more than 1,100 special activities have been held during this year’s festival.

For the next phase, the city is set to launch over 100 key events and more than 320 featured activities from late May to early June, according to the commission.

Using the platform of the shopping festival, more new products will make their debut in Shanghai, and more brands will promote their culture and innovations, it said.

One highlight is a broader trial of digital yuan payment.

Under the guidance of the Shanghai headquarters of the People’s Bank of China and the city's Financial Regulatory Bureau, the pilot program of e-yuan payment, as a key player in promoting the digital transformation of commerce, has taken the lead in showing up in some core commercial areas, including Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, Xintiandi, Yuyuan Garden, Lujiazui, Xujiahui and North Bund.

At present, more of the city's key commercial districts, streets, enterprises and platforms are getting tested in an orderly manner, and the payment environment is being continuously optimized, the commission said.

Meanwhile, more events related to food and beverage, new retail, the nighttime economy, tourism and health care will be held in the coming weeks.