Shanghai eyes 7% rise in retail sales

Source: Xinhua | 2017-02-17

SHANGHAI’S merchandise sales are expected to grow 7 percent this year, with retail sales targeted to rise 7 percent and e-commerce to jump 20 percent, the Shanghai Commission of Commerce said yesterday.

“Shanghai will continue to build up consumption capacity to boost the city’s economic growth this year,” said Shang Yuying, chairwoman of the commission.

In 2016, the city’s merchandise trade rose 7.9 percent year on year to 10.07 trillion yuan (US$1.5 trillion), the commission said.

E-commerce transactions grew rapidly by 21.9 percent annually to exceed 2 trillion yuan last year. B2B online transactions added 17.3 percent to 1.45 trillion yuan, and online shopping jumped 35.4 percent to 560 million yuan.

The city’s retail sales grew 8 percent year on year to 1.09 trillion yuan last year.