RESIDENTS looking to replenish their wardrobe or simply stock up on household essentials are invited to Shanghai’s annual shopping frenzy in Putuo District, which will kick off next week.

The district is set to launch a wide array of promotional activities during this year’s 4th Double Five Shopping Festival across its shopping, tourism and entertainment venues.

As the highly anticipated festival in Shanghai draws near, the excitement is building among locals and tourists alike.

The annual shopping festival runs through June and aims to expand and improve the city’s consumption, and accelerate the development of Shanghai as an international commercial center.

After being held for three consecutive years, the shopping festival has become a major event in Shanghai, promoting consumption and successfully creating a number of iconic events, such as the Global New Product Launch Season and the Shanghai Night Festival.

To attract new customers, in particular the two major customer groups of foreign visitors and younger Gen-Z shoppers, this year’s festival will introduce an art season and a global cuisine festival. A series of events that appeal to young consumers, such as a nightlife festival, a digital life festival and a coffee culture week, are on the agenda.

This year’s promotional events in Putuo will be themed around “new, service, automobiles and green consumption.”

Putuo has created two mascot figures for the annual shopping frenzy, named Puxiaohai and Puxiaogou, literally means “Hi Putuo” and “Shop in Putuo.” They will further promote the shopping brand of Putuo along with popular malls across the downtown district.

To boost the influence of its automobile market, the district will continue hosting its annual auto sales promotional events. Many new products will be launched, along with imported items and new eateries.

Renowned shopping complexes in Putuo such as Global Harbor, known as the largest shopping mall in Shanghai’s downtown, and Bailian Zhonghuan, will launch activities to drive nightlife and brand economies.

Putuo is determined to promote the district’s shopping dynamics, charm and quest to become one of the city’s top shopping destinations.

Retailers and merchants have been encouraged to use innovative models to promote products and attract shoppers, the district’s commerce commission said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has designated this year as “the year to boost consumption.” Under the priority of revitalizing and expanding consumption, Shanghai has deployed citywide promotional activities throughout the entire year.

Since the beginning of the year, Shanghai’s consumer market has shown a stable and warming trend.

According to data from the Consumer Market Big Data Laboratory, the total offline consumption in the city reached 261.7 billion yuan (US$37.8 billion) in March, a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent and up 10.8 percent from the previous month.

The online consumption in March amounted to 136.1 billion yuan, a growth of 17.4 percent year on year, among which the online retail sales of physical goods rose 6.7 percent to 113 billion yuan.

Auto carnival

As a highlight, the Putuo session of the Shanghai Auto Carnival will be held between April 28 and May 5, which features many 4S stores.

A large number of 4S stores in Taopu and Changzheng towns as well as the city’s automobile association will take part in the sales campaign. Multiple new cars will debut during the opening ceremony, with promotional events planned both online and offline.

Nearly 40 leading domestic and foreign automotive companies, including NETA, Tesla, NIO, SAIC Datong, Volvo, SMART, Audi, BYD, Xpeng and SAIC-Volkswagen will take part in the event.

High-end brands like Porsche, Aston Martin, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus, economy brands Toyota, BUICK and Chevrolet, and new-energy brands BYD will unveil their latest models at the event.

Dealers will provide discounts and promotions at this year’s festival, such as cash subsidies and preferential financial policies, along with lucky draws and souvenirs.

Consumers who have purchased a car or paid the deposit can take part in the lucky draw to share a total of 500,000 yuan in awards. They will be invited to smash one of 500 “golden eggs.” The awards include gold bars and jewelry, coffee machines, fresh food gift packages from Metro hypermarket and stainless vacuum cups.

Customers will also be invited to visit 10 of the 40 automobile brands or reserve test drives to receive a gift such as a toothpaste, mug, tissue box or shopping bag.

Micro-tourism routes

To promote the Suzhou Creek waterfront in Putuo, the district’s culture and tourism bureau has introduced several micro-tourism routes along the creek to boost the culture and tourism consumptions during the festival.

The walking routes traverse the most popular riverside attractions in Putuo, such as the M50 art park, Changfeng Park, Suning Art Museum and the Lego center. The routes are designed to boost Putuo’s distinction as the “Half Marathon Suzhou Creek.”

Putuo has developed a continuous path along the 21-kilometer section of the creek in the district. The downtown section in Putuo along the creek was once home to China’s earliest industries.

Putuo has also introduced several walking routes for people to explore the district’s history and culture. The routes themed “Suzhou Creek Cultures,” “Red Stories (about the history of the Communist Party of China)” and “Reading architecture” enable people to explore the city’s cultural heritage.

Several exhibitions and activities will be held at the Suzhou River Industrial Civilization Exhibition Hall, Gu Zhenghong Memorial Hall, Huxi Workers’ Half-Day School Exhibition Hall and Yuan Dynasty Water Gate Site Museum on May 18, the International Museum Day, .

A tour, hiking and other micro-travel routes will also be released for local parents and children on May 19, the China Tourism Day, according to the district’s culture and tourism bureau.

Some sports competitions, including paddle boarding, frisbee, rugby and drone flying, will invite amateur athletes to compete on and along the creek through December.