Consumption in Shanghai got off to a strong start this month as both domestic and foreign visitors contributed to keeping sentiment robust during the May Day holiday.

According to the Shanghai Commerce Commission, retail spending from both online and offline channels in the city amounted to 53 billion Yuan ($7.3 billion) from 30 April to 4 May. Online spending surged by 8.3% from the previous year to 23.5 billion Yuan.

In addition, foot traffic at 35 major commercial districts in Shanghai increased by 5.4% to 25.69 million, while inbound travellers surged by 62.2% to more than 100,000 over the same period.

Over 200 promotional activities, street bazaars, and leisure events are being held in the city every day as part of the Fifth Shanghai Double Five Shopping Festival, which got underway at the end of April, Shine News reports.

Almost half of in-store spending was made by out-of-town visitors, according to UnionPay's offline payment data, amounting to 14.9 billion Yuan.

The overall number of payments increased by 9.1% from the same period a year earlier to 14.49 million.

Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shandong are the top provinces in terms of the number of payments, the report adds.

Furthermore, the number of orders for tourist attractions, accommodation, and transportation services surged by 76% in the first three days of the Labour Day holiday.  

The city attracted visitors from neighbouring cities including Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, and Hefei.

In addition, spending from overseas travellers through Alipay increased sevenfold from a year earlier, and the number of Chinese merchants accepting foreign payments through digital wallets surged 4.5 times.

Since last year, following a series of unilateral visa-free policies for European and Asian nations, inbound travel has been gradually picking up. During the May Day holiday, the number of inbound customers using Alipay from these countries jumped fourfold.