Shopping fest buoys demand in Shanghai

Stellar results achieved during the first few days of May 5 Shopping Festival have provided confidence to the municipal government and retailers in Shanghai to advance the consumption campaign, further boosting market confidence and economic growth.

The newly introduced shopping carnival, which is the first of its kind initiated by the municipal government, helped online and offline retailers in Shanghai to register total sales of 15.68 billion yuan ($2.22 billion) 24 hours after the festival started at 8 pm on May 4, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

At least 520,000 online retailers and more than 100,000 physical stores participated in the shopping festival. The online consumption value topped over 40 billion yuan between May 1 and 10. Offline consumption registered via payment terminals totaled 48.2 billion yuan from May 1 to 10, which was almost on par with the amount last year.

The debut of new products will be one highlight as the shopping festival proceeds. According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, 73 new product releases of 52 brands will be held in the city by the end of May, including renowned global brands such as Coach, Lego and Dyson.

Consumption of imported goods will also be encouraged. Japanese department store Takashimaya will provide discounts of up to 45 percent for designated products. Bright Food Group will release a number of high-protein foods while Wine Exchange Shanghai will offer discounts for wine imported from Italy and France.

Automakers in Shanghai, whose sales have been impaired by the COVID-19 epidemic, have significantly picked up ever since May 5 Shopping Festival. From May 1 to 12, SAIC Motor saw 85,000 new enquiries for cars, up 58 percent from a year earlier. The carmaker also received 10,000 orders during the same period, up 23 percent on a yearly basis. SAIC's assistant president Cai Bin said that these numbers are of great value when compared to the numbers of last year.

By the end of June, SAIC plans to offer another 200 Volkswagen vehicles and 200 Buick cars at discounts of over 55 percent from their original price. Through these efforts, the group aims to achieve double the sales it achieved during the first quarter of this year during the two-month May 5 Shopping Festival, said Cai.

Grocery shopping app Dingdong Fresh said its sales in Shanghai doubled year-on-year to 280 million yuan from May 1 to 10 thanks to May 5 Shopping Festival, said the company's vice-president Zhang Yi. After granting 40 million yuan worth of coupons during the first 10 days in May, the company will continue to provide 160 million yuan worth of subsidies till the end of June, she said.

Apart from reviving consumer confidence, May 5 Shopping Festival has also helped to incubate a number of new business models, said Hua Yuan, director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

"Brick-and-mortar stores have revolutionized with the help of digital economy. Video-sharing platforms such as Bilibili have helped rejuvenate traditional business districts. Livestreaming has become a new way to boost sales and e-commerce platforms have helped sell exports to domestic buyers. The achievements of the shopping festival during the past 10 days have largely helped with an overall recovery of Shanghai's consumer market," he said.