The government of Shanghai has just launched a massive campaign aimed at boosting consumer spending. The program, called the May 5 Shopping Festival, was established in collaborations with local merchants and city officials as part of their efforts to encourage increased economic activity after months of stagnation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The festival held on Monday was attended by Shanghai Party Chief Li Qiang, who had also kicked off another program called the Global Promotion Convention of Shanghai as an International Shopping Magnet. City officials declared that the event itself will be held throughout the month of May and June, encompassing various other festivals such as Children's Day, Labor Day, and the Dragon Boat Festival.
The city's acting mayor, Gong Zhen, mentioned during the event's launch that the program, which will be open to all offline and online businesses, will be critical in helping reboot the economy. He added that the various programs throughout the festival period were designed to boost consumer confidence and help local businesses get back on their feet.
Throughout the two-month period, organizers have prepared more than 700 special activities and over 300 key campaigns in partnership with its business participants. Prior to the pandemic, Shanghai has been able to maintain its position as China's top city in terms of consumer goods sales. Last year, the city reported total sales of consumer productions of over 1.35 trillion yuan.
During the event, various retailers handed out coupons and promotions to visitors that were in attendance. Representatives from major companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, L'Oreal, and Tesla were present at the launch. They were joined by business executives and sales representatives of other local businesses and major brands.
As part of its participation in the festival, e-commerce company Suning.com announced that it would be handing out more than 2 billion yuan worth of vouchers to consumers living in Shanghai. On top of the coupons, the company is also offering customers special packages such as easy installment plans for certain products.
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced that apart from the coupons will be distributed, it will be joining other retail platform operators in launching Livestream sales. The company revealed that it will be hosting more than 10,000 live merchandise broadcasting sessions throughout the campaign period. Items sold during livestreaming sessions are often given with big discounts and promotions.
In terms of the discounts and coupons it will be giving out, Alibaba stated that consumers will be able to use the shopping vouchers to purchase over 1,000 lifestyle brands in more than 420,000 merchants on its Tmall and Taobao platforms.
