More duty-free stores to attract travelling shoppers

Buyers line up outside a duty free shop which opened in downtown Shanghai, Aug 8, 2016. [Photo by Yin Liqin/for China Daily]

Shanghai is keen to pull travelling consumers back to the domestic market by expanding departure tax refund services and opening more duty-free shops in the city, a city official said at a municipal government press conference on Tuesday.

Consumption remains the main driver of the city's stable economic growth, with the value of consumer goods retail sales for the first half year reaching 524.7 billion yuan ($79.2 billion). That has increased 7.6 percent on a yearly basis, according to statistics from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

"More duty-free shops will open in the city to meet the increasing demands on imported goods from local consumers," said Shang Yuying, the director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce at the press conference.

In addition, service-oriented consumption has become a new trend in the city as the growth of service consumption has surpassed the consumption of goods. The proportion of service consumption in the average consumption of local residents has exceeded 50 percent. The focus of consumption has also shifted from material to spiritual or experiential.

"More shopping malls in the city have created a relaxing and enjoyable shopping environment to delight the consumers with better shopping experience and higher-quality goods," Shang said.

Contact the writer at yuran@chinadaily.com.cn