City enjoys a holiday boost in consumer spending

Shanghai's spending on retail and catering, both online and offline, climbed steadily along with foot traffic during the National Day holiday.

Overall holiday spending in the city from September 30 to October 6 was 67.6 billion yuan (US$9.5 billion), 3.2 percent more than a year ago, according to the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

The city's foot traffic was up thanks to various tie-in activities, exhibitions and promotional campaigns, with 34.49 million visits recorded at 36 major business districts, a rise of 9.8 percent from the same period last year.

Catering services were a bright spot with discount vouchers at various restaurants offered through major online payment sites for local diners.

The city's overall catering spending recorded double-digit growth with total offline catering revenue at 8 billion yuan, the commission said.

Altogether, catering coupons worth 120 million yuan were offered by the city government in two batches since the end of September, boosting spending at local restaurants.

Shanghai financial consultant Jessie Cao said she saved 300 yuan for a family meal at a Cantonese restaurant in the Pudong New Area after securing a voucher from the government-specified mini-site on WeChat.

"It's a nice occasion to gather with family members and even better with the government subsidies," she said.

As catering demands diversified, tie-ins with sports and entertainment events also emerged.

Coffee chain Lavazza leveraged its sponsorship for the Rolex Shanghai Masters 2024 and offered specialty coffee drinks and new tennis-themed decorations at selected outlets in the city to attract customers who are sports lovers.

Meanwhile, the city-wide daily average sales of home appliances surged 140 percent from a week ago to 54.07 million yuan thanks to government-backed trade-in programs.

Sales have also been mounting for household items, home furnishing and senior-friendly products with as many as 228 percent of week-over-week gains and combined daily revenue of 23.14 million yuan.

A series of flagship activities in the "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season also attracted locals and tourists with a wide range of leisure activities and sports events.

New retail spaces and new shopping experiences proved attractive to customers.

The historic Shanghai Lady Fashion Department Store on Huaihai Road M. started trial operation in late September after a major restructuring and upgrade for the past half a year, and during the weeklong vacation the number of visitors was nearly three times that of the same period a year earlier.

Under the new brand "Lady Huaihai," it introduced seven new trendy lifestyle brands, inviting female customers to experience the new space, innovative items and cross-over cultural exhibitions and workshops.