Wuxi hosts shopping festivals to promote integrated development of online and offline retail. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Wuxi's online retail sales increased by 10.2 percent year-on-year in 2021, exceeding 100 billion yuan ($15.77 billion) for the first time and ranking third in Jiangsu province, according to data from the Wuxi commerce bureau.
Specifically, online retail sales of physical goods reached 93.8 billion yuan. The top three physical commodity categories were household appliances, home decorations, and clothing, accounting for over 60 percent of the total.
During this year's Double 11 and Double 12 Online Shopping Festival, the city saw total online retail sales exceed 14 billion yuan.
E-commerce has played an important role in strengthening the digital economy, driving innovation and entrepreneurship, boosting rural revitalization, and promoting economic transformation and upgrading, and has become a new driving force for the city's economic growth, according to officials.
In 2021, Wuxi cooperated with various e-commerce platforms such as JD Group and Alibaba to promote the integrated development of online and offline retail.
In an effort to find new sales promotion models, many local brands in Wuxi are being encouraged to use livestreaming to showcase their products and interact with consumers online.
The city's agricultural products saw online sales of 2.89 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, while the online sales of agricultural and related products such as the Yangshan honey peach, Dafu drunk plum, Mashan waxberry, Yang's strawberry, Yixing purple clay works and black tea saw a notable increase.
