Pudong pulls out all stops to promote shopping

Pudong will offer discounts, vouchers and coupons worth over 12 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion) as part of a citywide shopping spree.

To spur consumption in the post-pandemic period, the city plans to hold more than 700 promotional activities in May and June as part of the Double Five Shopping Festival.

The campaign has been embraced by Pudong, where more than 80 stores and retail malls will hold 160-plus promotional activities, more than one-fifth of the city’s total.

Pudong will be hosting promotional activities throughout the year, not just during the two-month festival, according to Xin Yaqin, head of the commerce commission of the Pudong New Area.

Century Link Mall will hold a variety of activities to promote foods listed as intangible cultural heritage at its Lane 1192, a street featuring many distinctive local delicacies.

Yongda Automobile will promote vehicles under brands like Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet through the Oriental CJ shopping channel. Tesla, which has a factory in the Lingang area, will host livestreaming shows on Bilibili to promote its vehicles.

Super Brand Mall, once the biggest shopping mall in Shanghai, will invite Internet celebrities to livestream sales events, and organize flash mobs and fairs to promote imported goods.

Pudong-based online shopping app Beyond connects reputable foreign shopping malls, such as Harrods, Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, to Chinese customers, offering products at favorable prices.

The company said it will distribute vouchers and launch holiday promotional packages for Mother’s Day on May 10.

Pudong’s two outlet malls, Florentia Village and Shanghai Village, will offer great discounts during the shopping festival. Shanghai Village recently introduced Bally, GCDS and Yohji Yamamoto outlets, and it will open a pop-up store for Shanghai designers from May 21 to 24.