Shanghai ranked among the top three in online payment collections during the May Day holiday, as spending on deliveries, travel destinations and leisure activities increased as consumer sentiment improved.
According to the most recent data from payment platforms, spending on digital platforms has increased significantly across all categories, with transportation, entertainment and catering services among others.
Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen were the top three cities using WeChat to make payments.
Alibaba’s food and grocery delivery site Ele.me received an average of 70 percent more delivery orders from commuters in Shanghai between 10 a.m. and 12 a.m. every night during the holiday.
Travelers from Hangzhou, Beijing and Suzhou spent the most on popular local foods such as steamed buns and scallion pancakes.
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Jing Jing restaurant is packed with customers during the Labor Day holiday.
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou were the top four cities for catering and leisure lifestyle service spend on the Meituan app in the first three days of the holiday.
There has been a 92 per cent increase in catering spending across the country as compared to the same period in 2019.
The most popular destinations in Shanghai in terms of visits and online payments were Nanjing Road E. Pedestrian Street, Wujiaochang area, Disney Resort, Lujiazui and Jing’an Temple areas.
Ticket sales at tourist destinations and cultural activities and events have increased by 78 percent since the Chinese New Year holiday this year.
The city had more than 15 million visitors, according to Shanghai tourism officials, with major tourist sites showing higher foot traffic and income than pre-pandemic levels.
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Nanjing Road E. Pedestrian Street, Wujiaochang Area, Disney Resort, Lujiazui and Jing’an Temple were the most popular attractions in terms of visitors and online purchases from Meituan.
According to WeChat payment data, the transaction size in the retail industry increased by 212 percent from 2019, while that of catering enterprises increased by 187 percent.
The number of Alipay payments at domestic locations increased 2.3 times over the past year, with the total value increasing by 70 percent compared to 2019.
Digital payments for transport have also grown by 120 per cent since 2019.
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A customer walks past an outdoor banner of a restaurant in a crowded shopping and dining area.
Outbound travel has also grown in popularity.
According to Alipay, the average amount spent by users in foreign destinations increased by 40 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The total number of payments also surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
The major destinations were Hong Kong and Macau in China, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.
The daily average number of WeChat payments made in Japan increased by 141 percent, while the average payment value increased by 137 percent in Hong Kong and Macau.