Shenzhen's consumer market raked in over 23 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in overall consumer spending during the first four days of the May Day holiday, according to data released by the city’s commerce bureau Wednesday night.
The period between April 30 to May 3 also saw growth in terms of footfall in key monitored shopping malls, as well as sales of goods and services compared with last year.
To boost local consumption over challenging times, Shenzhen started handing out 500 million yuan worth of electronic consumption vouchers in phases via e-commerce platforms from April 28.
Over 1.5 million vouchers, with a total value of 50 million yuan, were distributed via the JD.com app from May 1 to 3 and it had generated 300 million yuan in consumption.
The platform’s statistics showed that the top three brands by orders were Huawai, HONOR and OPPO, while the top-selling items were cell phones, intelligent wearable devices, and gold and accessories.
The first batch of e-vouchers on Meituan app, with a value of over 20 million yuan for catering, tourism and sports, was snapped up immediately after they were made available.
More than 80,000 eateries signed up for the program. Among them, Cantonese, Hunan, Japanese and Korean cuisines were the most popular.
Starting May 1, Shenzhen has offered 100 million yuan in subsidies for consumer electronics and household appliance purchases at local brick-and-mortar stores, with the subsidy capped at 2,000 yuan per person.
According to the industry association’s statistics, from April 30 to May 3, sales of consumer electronics and household appliances went up by 32% year on year, with the overall customer traffic of the city’s retail stores rising by 41% over 2021.
Suning and Sundan posted significant rise in sales. DJI, Skyworth and Konka were their top three best-selling brands.
Fueled by multiple policies on subsidizing vehicle purchases launched by the government, automobile sales showed a strong upward momentum throughout the holiday, with nearly 20,000 orders placed. Auto sales went up by 32% and dealerships’ consumer traffic was up 80% year on year.
The second batch of Meituan’s vouchers for dining in restaurants, food delivery, hotels and B&Bs, domestic tourist attractions, as well as fitness and gyms, were given out Thursday.
Consumption has become one of the city’s pillars of the economic development. Government data showed that the city’s online retail sales by enterprises above designated size went up by 15% in the first quarter this year, contributing 14.3% to the total retail sales of consumer goods during the period.