Pedestrian mall looks to spur shopping
SHANGHAI’S Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall will launch a major shopping promotion campaign from Thursday in an effort to drive up business recovery amid the COVID-19 resurgence.
As part of the city’s Double Five Shopping Festival, the pedestrian street, recognized as China’s No. 1 commercial street, will offer 30,000 shopping coupons worth 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million) through the end of 2022.
Customers can purchase the discounted coupon on the pedestrian mall’s mini program on Alipay app from 10am on Thursday. The coupons can be used at shopping centers, such as Shanghai New World Department Store and Shanghai New World Daimaru, as well as timehonored eatery brands on the street.
“The popular shopping street has suffered an unprecedented impact from the latest round of COVID-19 resurgence,” said Chen Yong, president of the Shanghai New World Co, which owns major shopping centers on the road.
The brick-and-mortar shops on the street have struggled to win back customers even two months after the lifting of the lockdown as sporadic community infections still pop up across the city.
“The peak shopping season was lost during the pandemic, but we still have faith in the over century-old shopping street,” Chen said.
The total sales of the pedestrian mall exceeded 10 billion yuan last year, making it one of the most lucrative commercial hubs in the city.
Medical staff and community volunteers who took part in the COVID-19 fight will be given extra discounts. There are also additional discounts for examinees of the national college entrance exams, or gaokao.
The pedestrian street between the Bund and Xizang Road M. in Huangpu District received about 200 million visitors in 2021, over 40 percent of them under age 30, according to statistics.