The launch ceremony of the International Consumption Season 2024 and the 5th Shanghai Shopping Festival was held at the Grand Halls at the North Bund of Shanghai on the evening of April 27, igniting a frenzy of activities aimed at boosting consumption in the city.

Discounts and premieres

Businesses in the city are offering significant discounts to fully capitalize on the shopping spree.

The Bailian Group will roll out 150 consumption-promotion activities from April 24 to June 30. Bailian Group Co Ltd will coordinate with its member companies to release 550,000 100-yuan ($13.8) consumption vouchers. Consumers can obtain these vouchers on the Bailian Cloud Store WeChat mini-program and the member benefits page of the Bailian Pass. All vouchers are universally applicable both online and offline.

From April 30 to May 5, Shanghai New World City will introduce special discounts for the shopping festival, with international cosmetics starting from 21 percent off, international watches starting from 15 percent off, and a maximum discount of 120 yuan for the first gram of gold jewelry, starting from 5 grams. 

At 9 am on April 30, the New World City WeChat mini-program will sell 100-yuan e-vouchers at 55 yuan to members, each of whom can buy up to two, with a total of 5,000 e-vouchers available. Consumers can use one such voucher per transaction.

Until the end of June, Metro supermarket is launching a massive price reduction campaign. In addition to discounts on its brands, there will be "crazy 567" events every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, offering incredible prices for everything from whole-cut imported steaks and salmon from the Faroe Islands to exceptional red wines from around the globe, dairy products, bakery goods, snacks, and afternoon tea.

In addition to the deep discounts, even more excitement comes from debut shows. 

Luxury fashion powerhouse Balenciaga will stage its highly anticipated Spring/Summer 2025 runway extravaganza in Shanghai on May 30. For creative director Demna Gvasalia, this upcoming show marks his official runway debut in Asia. 

In June, L'Oréal Professional will debut its revolutionary ammonia-free perming product at the L'Oréal global flagship store in Shanghai.

Incentives for performances and exhibitions

With the introduction of new government policies aimed at stimulating consumption, airlines, tourism providers, and financial institutions have swiftly followed suit by implementing complementary measures.

During the launch ceremony, the municipal government released a policy designed to reward globally renowned or domestically acclaimed large-scale concerts, music festivals, exceptional performances, and major art exhibitions held in the city, with rewards determined by the level of audience engagement. 

Similarly, rewards will be granted for both domestic and international major sporting events hosted in Shanghai, with the magnitude of rewards contingent upon spectator turnout or participant numbers. 

Moreover, incentives will be extended to internationally renowned exhibitions or large-scale showcases making their debut in Shanghai, with rewards calculated based on the exhibition area or average daily attendance. 

Additional incentives include those for international cruise tourism routes, transit visa-free tourism products, and online travel platforms, with rewards tied to the volume of international cruise voyages and inbound tourist arrivals.

Airfare discounts

China Eastern Airlines has introduced over 550,000 discounted tickets and travel packages, alongside the launch of three new international routes to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Vienna, Austria; and Marseille, France. 

Ctrip will debut a complimentary half-day tour of Shanghai exclusively for inbound tourists, complemented by 24 hours of complimentary internet service for each participating foreign visitor. 

Furthermore, Ctrip will roll out over 550,000 discounted airfare options, encompassing buy-one-get-one-free deals, global flash sales, mystery box tickets, and more. 

Additionally, Ctrip will offer discounts exceeding 50 percent on over 5,000 Shanghai hotels.

Convenient payment

During the launch ceremony, the municipal government has also issued five measures aimed at improving payment services.

First, the government will enhance the acceptance environment for bank cards, ensuring that both domestic and foreign bank cards are accepted at all key merchant locations. Shanghai plans to increase the number of POS terminals accepting foreign bank cards from 45,000 last year to 80,000 this year.

Second, the government will optimize cash services and expedite the process of enabling foreign bank cards to withdraw cash from nearly all ATMs in the city. 

It will encourage convenience stores, taxis, and other industries to maintain reserves of small-denomination cash for change. This year, the city plans to distribute 650,000 small cash purses. By year-end, Shanghai will have a total of 319 locations for foreign currency exchange, including outlets for foreign currency exchange franchises, foreign currency exchange points, and self-service foreign currency exchange machines.

Third, the government will improve the convenience of mobile payment services. It will streamline the operation process for international card users on domestic networks and increase their payment limits.

Fourth, the government will elevate the standard of bank account services. 

Last, the government will establish service centers for foreign visitors. At Pudong and Hongqiao airports, the government will build three one-stop comprehensive service centers for foreign nationals, as well as one payment service area.

China UnionPay, a major player in card payments, has allocated 100 million yuan to offer discounts for payments made via China UnionPay to both domestic and foreign visitors in the city. These discounts will be available across eight scenarios: dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, entertainment, medical care, and education. 

Additionally, China UnionPay has invested nearly 50 million yuan in 20 overseas countries and regions to provide cashback for card payments made via China UnionPay.

During the launch ceremony, the government also unveiled a special action plan for consumer goods trade-ins, encouraging the purchase of new cars, household appliances, and home décor upgrades.

Source: Jiefang Daily