During the May Day holiday this year on May 1-5, Xiamen plans to launch a series of promotions to get people to spend more in retail sales and in the catering sectors. [Photo/xmnn]

China plans on May 1 to kick off its annual national shopping promotions drive – National Consumption Promotion Month – to further stimulate all businesses and boost consumer sentiment, with Xiamen city in East China's Fujian province to be involved.

According to the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, during the May Day holiday this year on May 1-5, the city will launch a series of promotions to get people to spend more in retail sales and in the catering sectors.

It is estimated that tens of millions of yuan's worth of shopping coupons will be released.

As for its month-long shopping campaign, Xiamen will roll out different themed promotions covering online shopping, home furnishing materials and appliances, time-honored brands and much more.

Major catering stores, shopping malls, e-commerce platforms, home appliance stores and car dealerships in the city will give special discounts to customers.

Spokesman from the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce said that during the May Day holiday, Xiamen is encouraging big shopping malls and supermarkets, brand chain convenience stores and catering outlets in the city to issue shopping coupons to residents and tourists – through online platforms such as Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay and their own platforms. The government will give back 50 percent of the discount to businesses as subsidies.

Large shopping malls, supermarkets and brand chain convenience stores that participate in the event must issue electronic coupons, with the amount of the individual coupon not exceeding 1,000 yuan ($154).

The subsidy policy only applies to those coupons issued and used on May 1-5.

All businesses must follow strict novel coronavirus epidemic prevention and control measures during the May Day holiday, to create a safe shopping environment for residents and tourists.

In order to further unleash the spending potential of consumers, the Ministry of Commerce, together with a host of other ministry-level departments, plans to launch this year's National Consumption Promotion Month on May 1-31.

The National Consumption Promotion Month is an important measure, undertaken by the Ministry of Commerce, to implement the strategy for expanding domestic demand and promoting steady growth in consumer expenditure.

This year marks the 10th year of the launch of the campaign. It will include a wider range of events and activities in different places across the country, to promote retail sales of various products and services, both online and offline.