District reaps rich harvest as shopping season goes into top gear

Minhang District has launched its vibrant shopping season under the theme "Enjoy Minhang GO!GO!GO!" with consumption-driven campaigns in full swing.

Running through the end of June, the shopping gala offers promotions, discounts and vouchers at major destinations such as The Hub, Paradise Walk, The MixC, Aegean Place Shanghai and Jingting Tiandi Shanghai.

This year's festival focuses on themes such as shopping sprees, food feasts, family fun, sports vitality and cultural exploration, leveraging Minhang's market strengths and rich cultural resources to boost synergies across culture, tourism, commerce and sports exhibitions.

District authorities are actively tapping into emerging trends like the "youth economy," "pet economy" and "silver-haired economy," with over 100 special activities planned to create a new urban consumption carnival and fully revitalize the market.

The top 10 consumption scenes were unveiled, featuring "Smart Home," "Beauty Fantasy," "Cool Vehicle Fashion" and "A Mouthful of Global Gourmet." Promotional events will run year-round, tailored to seasonal preferences and consumption trends.

Latest discount updates are also shared via a specially designed tourism bus traveling on fixed routes, keeping community residents informed about seasonal deals.

Holiday shopping spree

Minhang witnessed robust consumption in the May Day holiday from May 1-5.

Forty major commercial complexes in the district recorded a total transaction of 438 million yuan (US$60 million), an increase of 4.09 percent from a year ago, according to the district commerce commission.

Foot traffic totalled 5.59 million, an increase of 1.33 percent, while average shopper's spending increased 2.72 percent to 78.4 yuan.

Catering spending jumped 10.82 percent with holiday gathering picking up and additional discounts offered by Shanghai's city-wide dining coupons.

The Wuzhong Road shopping area led in sales, followed by Xinzhuang and Nanfang.

The Wuzhong Road and Meilong business areas saw the steepest year-over-year sales growth, at 28.3 percent and 16.8 percent respectively.

Driven by intercity tourism and vacation spending, the Hongqiao Business District reported a 13.84 percent sales increase.

Top-performing malls in transaction volume included The MixC, Link Plaza Qibao and Skymall. The Hub, Link Plaza Qibao and POPC were the most popular, averaging 68,000 daily visitors during the holiday.

Promotion campaigns

During the May Day holiday, The MixC not only offered discounts but also hosted a special bazaar featuring Yunnan and Guizhou products, utilizing the Wuzhong Road-side plaza to create a vibrant new consumption scene that drew large crowds.

The POPC shopping mall appealed to pet owners in nearby communities by clearly marking pet-friendly restaurants.

The Jingting Tiandi plaza continued to feature Korean-style performances and food court.

Home appliance vendors and home decoration service providers also recorded sales increase with additional discounts apart from the national trade-in subsidies.

JD's home appliances sales in Shanghai jumped 33 percent from the same period a year ago, while SD Home Decoration, Mingju Home Decoration Group and Xinchao International recorded sales increases of 30 percent, 16 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively.

Retailers in Minhang are giving full play to natural resources and ecological advantages to use a unified approach to host events that combine retail, tourism, culture and sports.

From May 1-5, seven A-level tourist attractions in the district created colorful holiday activities for visitors, attracting 498,700 visits, with many continuing into the summer.

Pujiang Country Park staged the spring floral exhibition with over two dozens of art installations, pet activities and handicraft workshops, which attracted families with children.

The park received 81,700 visits, a 6.66 percent jump from a year ago, with total spending surging 98.8 percent to 3.42 million yuan through value-added service.

Cultural heritage

Qibao Old Town and Hanxiang Water Garden staged performances and intangible cultural heritage displays, while museums became popular destinations for cultural learning.

Twelve museum venues in the district hosted 27 exhibitions and 42 activities during the holiday which attracted 80,300 visitors, a year-over-year increase of 15.3 percent.

The Minhang Museum's Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) -themed exhibition and night tours offered immersive cultural tour for visitors and the total number of visitors jumped 30.3 percent to 29,600.

The Hai Museum of Art and the Powerlong Museum also drew large crowds with their specialty exhibitions.