Shanghai records double-digit consumption growth during the Chinese New Year

During the Spring Festival holiday, spending at brick-and-mortar stores and via e-commerce in Shanghai surged 12.8 percent year-on-year, exceeding 60 billion yuan, according to official sources.

Over the eight days between Feb 15 and 22, consumption in Shanghai totaled 60.35 billion yuan ($8.76 billion) both online and offline, up 12.8 percent from the same period of last year, as per statistics from the Consumer Market Big Data Laboratory (Shanghai).

Specifically, offline consumption rose 15.4 percent year-on-year to 36.55 billion yuan, and spending made online increased 8.9 percent on year to 23.80 billion yuan.

Tourism-related consumption, including food, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment, generated 25.61 billion yuan, a year-on-year rise of 20.9 percent, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism said.

During the Chinese New Year holiday, which concluded Feb 23, the city recorded a total of 21.67 million passenger trips of visitors, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism said, citing big data monitored by Shanghai's tourism sector.

The wide range of Spring Festival promotional events is believed to have greatly boosted consumer enthusiasm and helped drive spending. According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, more than 300 such activities were launched in the city daily, while prize invoices and consumption coupons also contributed to the thriving expenditures.

Shanghai's 19 city-level business districts reported combined spending of 4.78 billion yuan, up 12 percent year-on-year, while average daily foot traffic reached 3.19 million passenger trips, representing a year-on-year increase of 15.8 percent.