Nantong consumers spend up big during holiday

Fresh fruit fills the shelves in a supermarket in Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province, during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday on June 7-9. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

There was a mini consumer boom during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday in eastern Jiangsu province’s Nantong, with sales in the city done by a monitored 128 retail businesses coming in at 360 million yuan ($52.06 million) – up 9.1 percent on the same period last year, according to statistics released by the city’s commerce bureau on June 9.

The 128 companies on the list covered the major consumer areas, including shopping malls, supermarkets, 4S stores, restaurants and hotels.

To meet the strong customer demand, businesses stocked more products in a wide range and offered discounts to promote sales.

According to statistics, 30 downtown businesses brought in 960 million yuan worth of stock, with food accounting for 170 million yuan, clothing 280 million yuan, jewelry 190 million yuan and home appliances 180 million yuan.

The local logistics center for agricultural and associate products supplied about 2,000 tons of vegetables, 1,200 tons of fruit, 25 tons of seafood every day during the holiday.

In addition to regular food purchases, the demand for health products and services, environmental-friendly and intelligent products -- including HD (high-definition) digital TVs, intelligent water-saving washing machines and robot sweepers -- became hotspots in the market.

The holiday also saw the continued growth of new consumer patterns, including online shopping, online food ordering, tailor-made travel and mobile payments.