Shanghai's municipal government formulated a package of measures for boosting consumer confidence and encouraging consumption activities at a press conference on April 23.

Officials from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission and other municipal departments participated in the meeting.

Hua Yuan, director of the municipal Commission of Commerce introduced a variety of measures in local service, manufacturing, shopping and culture taken to activate consumer spending,  strengthen Shanghai's market influence and stimulate convenient and multi-dimensional consumption options.

Launching of policies and shopping gala

In 2019, Shanghai reported total sales revenue of 1.35 trillion yuan ($191 billion) in consumer products, maintaining its No 1 ranking in China for the third year in a row, Hua said.

The city's e-commerce transaction volume exceeded 3.3 trillion yuan last year, an increase of 14.7 percent. A number of e-commerce enterprises with strong resource allocation ability have gathered in the city, and the number of users of major e-commerce livestream platforms ranks first in China.

The city has been restoring confidence in consumer confidence and consumption after the novel coronavirus epidemic tapered off. Therefore, a raft of policies and measures has been rolled out to boost the "shopping in Shanghai" goal set by the municipal government. 

Additionally, Shanghai will launch a shopping gala that spans the second quarter with all the major e-commerce platforms, commercial enterprises, brands and projects participating.

Firstly, Shanghai will better meet the people's continuous enthusiasm for recovery and high consumption through strong policy measures.

Secondly, by holding the shopping gala, the city aims to create a landmark activity in the international shopping city and achieve a brand new consumers' festival for a vast number of businesses and consumers.

Thirdly, in response to the developing online economy, new forms of consumption and other models of shopping have been speeding up during the epidemic outbreak.

Main contents of the newly-issued measures

A number of 12 policy-based measures have been adopted to boost consumer confidence, unleash the city's consumption potential and improve the quality and expansion of consumption.

Shopping gala: Shanghai will strengthen the unity of urban areas, collaboration between government and enterprises, and inter-city linkage mainly through the two-wheel drive of "policy + activities". The municipal government will try its utmost to promote consumption recovery, and strive to create the most up-to-date, fashionable and cost-effective shopping feast in the country, which it is hoped will become a landmark activity of the "shopping in Shanghai" brand.

Five major consumptions: This measure includes consumption in emerging business, leisure activities, vehicles, information and home decoration, which are the major part of consumption and the important direction of consumption upgrading.

Four economies: This step focuses on business opportunities raised by products debuts, leisure activities and nighttime consumption, branding and duty free shopping, which are the highlight features of the "shopping in Shanghai" brand and the construction of an international consumer city. It is also an important step in promoting the upgrading of the consumer market and better meeting diversified consumer demands.

A consumer environment: This measure attempts to achieve a sound consumer atmosphere. On the one hand, Shanghai will make full use of the advantages of the integrated media and create a good atmosphere to promote local consumption. On the other hand, it will vigorously advocate honest consumption, release integrity indexes in key businesses and create an honest and trustworthy consumption environment.

A press conference intended to fuel consumption activities in Shanghai is held by the Shanghai municipal government on April 23. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]