The third Suzhou Double 12 Shopping Festival kicks off at the Suzhou Center on the evening of Dec 11. [Photo/Suzhou Bureau of Commerce]
The third Suzhou Double 12 Shopping Festival kicked off at the Suzhou Center on the evening of Dec 11.
The event will run until Feb 5, 2023, featuring various consumption promotion activities offering discounts worth over 15 billion yuan ($2.15 billion) to be held over holidays such as the New Year, the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival, according to officials.
Over 12,000 local enterprises and merchants in Suzhou will take part in 12 themed activities to promote autumn and winter delicacies, local time-honored brands, daily necessities, quality imported goods, coffee, and cultural tourism products.
People shop at a local shopping mall in Suzhou. [Photo/Suzhou Bureau of Commerce]
During the opening ceremony, e-commerce giants such as Alibaba, Meituan and Suning announced online consumption promotion activities. The "Igo Suzhou" consumption manual was released, which comprehensively introduces Suzhou's consumption environment, promotes shopping strategies and themed routes according to the season, and covers various aspects such as food, drink, entertainment, shopping and lodging.
Suzhoudao, an online service platform of Suzhou, launched over 10 new service modules synchronizing with the Double 12 Shopping Festival. Users can also read the "Igo Suzhou" consumption manual on the platform.
In recent years, Suzhou has organized various shopping festivals to increase consumption and keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range.