'Stay-put' Spring Festival drives consumption in Shanghai

SHANGHAI -- Retailers and restaurants in Shanghai saw surging sales during the Spring Festival holiday as many people stayed put to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The sales revenue of the city's 390 major retailers reached 7.61 billion yuan (about $1.18 billion), 2.2 times the value reaped during last year's holiday, according to the Shanghai municipal commission of commerce.

A total of 107 selected catering and beverage businesses saw their sales revenue reach 29.33 million yuan during the same period, up 79 percent year-on-year.

The Spring Festival holiday, also known as the Lunar New Year, lasted from Feb 11 to 17 this year.

From Feb 11 to 16, the number of movie-goers reached 5.21 million, 2.2 times the number during the Spring Festival holiday in 2019, according to the movie-ticketing and film data platform Maoyan.