He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said recently that according to monitoring by business big data on key e-commerce platforms, the average daily online retail sales nationwide during the "2024 National Online New Year Shopping Festival" increased by % year-on-year, marking a strong start to online consumption for the year. The "2024 National Online New Year Shopping Festival" successfully concluded on [date].

At a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce, He Yongqian stated that the online New Year shopping festival was full of highlights, which can be summarized as four driving forces: policy-driven emergence of new hotspots, intangible cultural heritage-driven setting of new trends, quality-driven optimization of new supplies, and online-driven enhancement of new experiences.

The benefits of the policy to expand and strengthen trade-in programs are rapidly becoming evident. Various regions, aligning with the holiday consumption demands, have introduced diverse subsidy incentives and convenient recycling channels. Online sales of dishwashers and water purifiers have increased by .% and .%, respectively. The expansion of visa-free "friend circles" and extended holidays have spurred rapid growth in cross-border tourism. Special activities such as "Winter Journey" and "Spring Festival Tour in China" have boosted both inbound and outbound tourism. Online tourism sales have grown by .%, with outbound tourism increasing by .%. During the Spring Festival holiday, short-haul inbound tourism to countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as long-haul inbound tourism to Europe and America, saw order volumes increase by % and %, respectively.

The first "intangible cultural heritage edition" Spring Festival has ignited the trend of domestic goods and culture. Across various regions, activities such as "Domestic Goods Welcome Spring" have been organized around traditional cultural elements like New Year customs and flavors. Sales of intangible cultural heritage-themed products such as White Snake handicrafts and colored lanterns have seen rapid growth online. Sales of tourism products like intangible cultural heritage performances and folk garden tours have been booming. During the Spring Festival holiday, online sales increased by .% and .%, respectively, with orders for folk performances such as Yingge dance and fire pot shows doubling on key monitoring platforms.

Healthy and organic products have become the preferred choice. During the Spring Festival holiday, sales of fat-shedding machines and steppers increased by .% and .%, respectively, while sales of organic seasonings and organic milk rose by .% and .%. "Gifting health" and "stocking up on health" have emerged as new trends for the New Year. Global goods are highly popular, with regions like Guangxi, Shandong, and Shanghai leveraging their geographical advantages to facilitate the entry of high-quality products from ASEAN and Central Asia into the Chinese market. Specialty items such as Italian chocolate candies and Malaysian biscuits and cakes have become new year favorites, with sales increasing by .% and .%, respectively.

Dining-out demand remains robust. Online catering sales grew by .%, with a notable increase in dine-in services, as evidenced by a .% rise in orders for New Year's Eve meals on key monitored platforms. Online entertainment also saw impressive growth. The bustling Spring Festival movie market, driven by the trend of "online ticket purchases and offline viewing," contributed to a .% increase in online entertainment sales.