Shanghai residents did not spend less during the shortened Labor Day holiday although it may have caused them to cancel their long-distance travel plans.

The city's 354 medium and large-size retailers reported their combined retail sales hit 2.19 billion yuan (US$317.3 million) during the three-day holiday from May 1, a jump of 22 percent from the holiday period last year, the Shanghai Economic Commission said yesterday.

The increase outpaced the 16.8 percent expansion in the holiday expenditure of the Labor Day golden week last year. China cut the holiday from a week to three days from this year.

"The shortened holiday kept many would-be travelers in the city and attracted nearby visitors, contributing to the holiday shopping spree," said Chen Yuxian, a senior analyst at the commission.

"A shopping boom not only demonstrates the national economy continues to boom but also underlined government's efforts to spur consumption for sustained development," he added.

The average daily sales topped 731 million yuan over the three-day holiday, 4.3 times than that of 2000 and was also the highest over the past eight years, according to the commission.

Retail sales in the city grew more than 21 percent throughout the holiday, which peaked on last Thursday with a turnover of 905 million yuan.

Specialty stores, or brand-name stores, took the lead in turnover and growth for the first time among five major business models. It posted total sales of 768 million yuan, an increase of 37 percent year on year while hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenient stores pulled in 763 million yuan.

Department stores and shopping malls saw sales climb 17.4 percent to 589 million yuan due to abundant supply. Heavy spending in restaurants for weddings and family banquets helped the catering sector post a 49-million-yuan revenue.

Local residents spent the bulk of their money, 612.87 million yuan, on electronics, followed by jewelry with over 48 million yuan. Sales of apparels rocketed 72.4 percent to 9.22 million yuan during the holiday.

Some analysts said the robust retail sales were not only due to strong consumption power but could also be partly attributed to the relative high consumer prices.

(Shanghai Daily May 5, 2008)