Shop sales slow as city residents take a holiday
By Wang Yanlin |
October 8, 2012, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ALTHOUGH it was a longer holiday than usual and the weather was fine, Shanghai retailers' efforts to boost sales didn't seem to have the desired effect.
One theory was that too many people took advantage of the toll-free expressways to head out of the city, leaving fewer shoppers behind.
Shanghai's retail sales during the National Day holiday, which ran to eight days this year with the inclusion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier to 6.43 billion yuan (US$1.02 billion), the Shanghai Commission of Commerce said yesterday.
However, with average daily sales at around 803 million yuan between September 30 and yesterday, this fell short of expectations.
The growth was slower than the jump of 14 percent during the Spring Festival and the Labor Day holiday's 11.6 percent rise. Last year's National Day holiday saw a sales expansion of 17.1 percent.
Some shoppers said that the current economic downturn had forced them to tighten their belts.
"We have to save money for the rainy days although some shops offer really good bargains in the holiday," said 32-year-old Juliet Yao.
Li Guoding, general manager of Shanghai Friendship Group Co, which operates more than 1,000 stores in the city, said before the holiday that he hoped "endless" promotions would drive up sales.
However, with more than 7 million residents leaving Shanghai for the holiday, or nearly 30 percent of the city's total population, it was hard for retailers to increase sales as much as they wanted.
"The overall performance was not as good as we had expected, but there were some bright spots pointing at new trends for consumption," an official at the commission said.
Its statistics, which covered more than 5,000 stores belonging to 395 large and mid-sized retailers, showed October 1 to have had the highest daily sales of 1 billion yuan, up 11.7 percent from the year before.
While traditional commercial hubs in Huangpu and Xuhui districts were sluggish performers, newly emerging hubs such as those in Hongkou and Yangpu districts performed much better with sales bouncing up 35.9 percent and 16.6 percent respectively.
Retail sales in nearby suburban areas such as Jiading and Qingpu climbed 24.8 percent year on year to 1.24 billion yuan. The growth pace was much faster than stores in the city's downtown, the commission said.
Consumers spent more money on books during the holiday, and sales grew 24.9 percent from a year earlier.
In comparison, sales of jewelry and clothes increased by 12.4 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. Sales of home appliances, on the other hand, were down by 12.1 percent.
There was good cheer for the city's hotels and restaurants. They benefited from the rising number of wedding ceremonies and higher food costs.
The average price for each table for a wedding ceremony rose to 3,746 yuan, up 10.6 percent on an annual basis.
One theory was that too many people took advantage of the toll-free expressways to head out of the city, leaving fewer shoppers behind.
Shanghai's retail sales during the National Day holiday, which ran to eight days this year with the inclusion of the Mid-Autumn Festival, rose 9.2 percent from a year earlier to 6.43 billion yuan (US$1.02 billion), the Shanghai Commission of Commerce said yesterday.
However, with average daily sales at around 803 million yuan between September 30 and yesterday, this fell short of expectations.
The growth was slower than the jump of 14 percent during the Spring Festival and the Labor Day holiday's 11.6 percent rise. Last year's National Day holiday saw a sales expansion of 17.1 percent.
Some shoppers said that the current economic downturn had forced them to tighten their belts.
"We have to save money for the rainy days although some shops offer really good bargains in the holiday," said 32-year-old Juliet Yao.
Li Guoding, general manager of Shanghai Friendship Group Co, which operates more than 1,000 stores in the city, said before the holiday that he hoped "endless" promotions would drive up sales.
However, with more than 7 million residents leaving Shanghai for the holiday, or nearly 30 percent of the city's total population, it was hard for retailers to increase sales as much as they wanted.
"The overall performance was not as good as we had expected, but there were some bright spots pointing at new trends for consumption," an official at the commission said.
Its statistics, which covered more than 5,000 stores belonging to 395 large and mid-sized retailers, showed October 1 to have had the highest daily sales of 1 billion yuan, up 11.7 percent from the year before.
While traditional commercial hubs in Huangpu and Xuhui districts were sluggish performers, newly emerging hubs such as those in Hongkou and Yangpu districts performed much better with sales bouncing up 35.9 percent and 16.6 percent respectively.
Retail sales in nearby suburban areas such as Jiading and Qingpu climbed 24.8 percent year on year to 1.24 billion yuan. The growth pace was much faster than stores in the city's downtown, the commission said.
Consumers spent more money on books during the holiday, and sales grew 24.9 percent from a year earlier.
In comparison, sales of jewelry and clothes increased by 12.4 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. Sales of home appliances, on the other hand, were down by 12.1 percent.
There was good cheer for the city's hotels and restaurants. They benefited from the rising number of wedding ceremonies and higher food costs.
The average price for each table for a wedding ceremony rose to 3,746 yuan, up 10.6 percent on an annual basis.
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