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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) — China's consumer sector received a major boost in the early days of the Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year) holiday as Chinese consumers spent heavily, filling restaurants and shopping malls and traveling around the country.
According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, average daily sales at major retail and catering establishments increased by 8.6 percent during the first four days of the holiday compared to the same period last year. During the first three days of the holiday, footfall and revenue increased by 4.5 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, on 78 key shopping streets and districts.
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, fell on February 17 this year, with the total duration of the holiday, which began on February 15, being nine days.
This boom in consumer activity was the result of a combination of both traditional and new trends. Online platforms recorded increased interest in smart devices: sales of wearables on the largest platforms jumped 19.7 percent year-on-year in the first three days of the holiday. Sales of smart glasses (up 3.5 times) and smart glucometers (up nearly 50 percent) were particularly noticeable.
Growth in service spending also accelerated. During the first three days of the holiday, domestic tourism spending across major online platforms increased by 4.5 percent year-on-year, while car rental bookings increased by 26 percent.
In the southern Chinese island province of Hainan, duty-free sales reached 970 million yuan (almost $140 million) in the first four days of the holiday, up 15.8 percent from a year earlier.
The nationwide trade-in program also continued to stimulate consumer demand. As of February 18, approximately 28.44 million consumers had taken advantage of the trade-in subsidies, resulting in sales of nearly 196.39 billion yuan, of which 100.23 billion yuan came from vehicle trade-ins.
Ahead of the nine-day holiday, the government has introduced a range of support measures, advising local authorities and businesses to combine promotional campaigns with policy incentives, including issuing consumer vouchers and improving payment services for visitors. -0-
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