FOOT traffic and sales in Shenzhen have seen a significant rebound during the five-day May Day holiday, as offline purchases boosted by the governments’ consumer vouchers heat up in sync with temperatures, according to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

In the first two days of the holiday, the daily sales of some large supermarkets increased by 15 percent year on year, with some boasting a maximum growth of 60 percent. The offline sales of department stores and shopping malls mostly recovered to about 80 percent of the same period last year, the Daily said.

The surge in foot traffic in shopping malls shows that an increasing number of citizens are itching to shop and buy.

“More people are staying in Shenzhen this holiday than ever before. The epidemic has been effectively controlled in Shenzhen. In such good weather, people are in a good mood to go out for spending money,” a staffer with a beverage store in Coco Park, Futian District, told the Daily.

Looking at other shopping malls in Nanshan, Longhua and Luohu districts, popular beverage and dessert stores again met with large crowds and long lines. Some restaurants were full of diners at dinner time. Fashion retailers, jewelry stores, and beauty brands also saw an uptick in customers.

“On the first day of the holiday, foot traffic in our shopping mall recovered to 70 percent of the same period last year, and sales reached more than 80 percent of the same period last year,” the deputy general manager of Rainbow Shopping Mall in Longhua, surnamed Sun, told the Daily.

A great number of consumers have used consumer coupons issued by the local governments, said the Daily. The coupons, which can be used along with the businesses’ vouchers, have enabled consumers to shop at bargain prices.

“The coupons are obviously very effective in attracting more consumers,” said a staff member with a Carrefour outlet in Futian.

Since April, various districts including Luohu, Futian, Longhua, Bao’an, Longgang and Pingshan have distributed consumer coupons worth more than 400 million yuan (US$56.65 million yuan) to the public.

(Zhang Yu)