Tills set to ring as shopping season approaches

The city's shopping season will soon be unveiled, as the annual event becomes a major functional platform and an iconic activity to boost the city's position as an international consumption hub.

A total of 12 key promotional campaigns and more than a dozen district-level activities will be hosted, spanning from July to September, the director of the Shanghai Commerce Commission Gu Jun said at a press briefing on Saturday.

The annual shopping festival returns for a third time, and this year's focus will cover hot topics such as the digital economy, community life and low carbon emission.

Trendy fashion apparel, cosmetics, jewellery and vehicles will be making their debuts during the shopping season, with the city encouraging brand promotional activities featuring new products, new technologies and new services.

"Shanghai's economy still holds strong momentum and has a leading position among domestic cities in terms of new store openings and brand debut," Gu noted.

In the first half, a total of 366 debut stores opened in Shanghai. New stores will gain further steam in the second half, with key features such as high-tech gadgets, futuristic store designs and eco-friendly merchandise.

"Many more new technologies and merchandise will be unveiled and available for Shanghai shoppers through the China International Import Expo," he said.

L'Oréal will launch its first Chinese mainland store for Prada fragrances and cosmetics as a further vote of its confidence in the booming consumption scene.

The first Shanghai store for its high-end skincare brand CARITA will also be set up in early September at Shanghai New World Daimaru Department Store.

Targeted incentives and subsidies for brands with innovative retail formats, models and creative activities will also be offered by the government.

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Qiu Wenjin, deputy director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, said Shanghai's auto market performance has shown recovery.

Auto sales and relevant service expenditure posted 13 percent jump to 8.8 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in the first half of July and 9.4 percent increase in June.

In the first half this year, industry value of new-energy vehicles surged 57 percent to 103 billion yuan.

Deputy director of the Shanghai Commerce Commission Liu Min said digital platforms will also play a major role to further unleash shopping demands with new initiatives to drive online and offline integration and promote digital lifestyle services.

Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization has mobilized digital platforms including RED, Dewu, Pinduoduo, Alibaba, Bilibili and Douyin to offer special promotions for nationwide shoppers as well.

The accumulated sales are expected to reach more than 100 billion yuan.

Here's a list of major promotional activities staged by local retailers and digital players.

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• Meituan said it's teaming up with more than 100,000 caterers, retailers and supermarkets to cover a wide range of daily demands like dining, food takeaway, transportation, entertainment and travel. As many as 1.8 billion yuan of promotional coupons and subsidies will be offered for merchants as well as shoppers to cover daily life shopping and leisure activities.

• Pinduoduo has pledged 3.8 billion yuan of subsidies with special promotions for Shanghai's time-honored brands and local agricultural products. Its livestream session scheduled for Sunday evening will also feature local household brands and popular import products.

• SAIC Motor Co will bring more than 50 new models under 13 brands as part of the ongoing Summer Car Festival which included latest offerings of electrification features and connected smart vehicles. Brand theme day is staged with a full range of outdoor activities also available through August 7.

• Automobile after-sales service provider Tuhu offers up to 1000 yuan of subsidy for auto maintenance with combined voucher worth up to 2.2 billion yuan. It encourages online booking for car maintenance and provides seasonal decorative and heat prevention items as well.

• Shanghai's time-honored Lao Feng Xiang pledges 100 yuan subsidy each for one million shoppers. It will also unveil new store image featuring Chinese-style gold decorative items as well as new bridal and wedding jewellery lines.

• Douyin plans to invite top livestreamers to help promote Shanghai local retailers and products, and will also bring together influencers to promote local deals, entertainment activities and latest discount information. Augmented reality fitting rooms and virtual art show will be staged through Douyin's collaboration with TX Huaihai.

• Suning's promotion which runs till the end of September offers 2 billion yuan worth of discount voucher covering supermarkets, groceries and appliance stores, with special discounts for more than 200,000 kinds of appliances with energy-saving features and smart or high tech elements. For home appliance maintenance, repair and cleaning service, a series of subsidies are also available.

• Alipay sets to fully leverage its digital marketing and inclusive financial service and promote environmentally friendly shopping and relevant activities. It will also provide community charitable service at selected subdistricts for the elderly to help them take up digital services.
  

• Uniqlo launches about a dozen new seasonal apparel and discounts for more than 1,000 items, as well as a special 50-yuan discount for members.