The cash registers ring and consumer demand and retail spending gets a welcome boost from the Shanghai May 5 Shopping Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]

The 4th Shanghai May 5 Shopping Festival was held from April 29 to June 30 – aiming to stimulate consumer demand and promote economic recovery in the city in East China.

According to the Consumer Market Big Data Lab (Shanghai), the online and on-site retail sales in Shanghai averaged 4.77 billion yuan ($664.27 million) and 7.13 billion yuan per day respectively during the festival – up 16.6 percent and 16.2 percent year-on-year.

In addition, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce monitored 250 large shopping malls and found that their sales increased by 6.7 percent year-on-year, while their customer flows increased by 19.4 percent.

Food, clothing, footwear, cosmetics and jewelry were among the best-selling items during the event – with their retail sales increasing by 39.1 percent, 34.1 percent, 32.1 percent and 11.6 percent year-on-year respectively.

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said that after the festival, the city would launch successive consumer promotions campaigns throughout the year.

They'll include the summer shopping season, the autumn shopping and tourism season, the China International Import Expo-themed shopping season, the online shopping carnival season and the New Year's shopping season.