(Yicai Global) July 8 -- Shanghai's two-month-long Double Five Shopping Festival, initiated on May 5th in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic to boost consumption, has grossed over CNY500 billion (USD71.3 billion) in online and offline sales.

In fact, it has been such a success that the city has decided to hold the shopping festival annually, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce said today.

Online retail sales in May and June surged 23.5 percent from a year earlier to CNY255.1 billion, the commission said. Offline sales touched CNY284.6 billion, up 11.6 percent from March and April and on a par with last year.

Some 520,000 online and 100,000 brick-and-mortar stores participated in the shopping gala, the commission said. They held more than 170 promotional activities and over 1,000 featured events.

Buoyed by heavy discounts, consumption in key sectors rebounded rapidly. Some 116,000 automobiles were sold over the two months, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier. Food delivery platform Ele.me reported a 15 percent rise in sales. E-grocer Dingdong Maicai saw turnover more than double.

Two hundred large commercial companies posted CNY68.4 billion (USD9.8 billion) in sales, 33.5 percent more than in March and April and up 4.5 percent from a year earlier.

Shanghai will use the experience gained from the Double Five Shopping Festival to drive up spending in the second half and will start organizing the second event as soon as possible, the commission said.

Editor: Kim Taylor