On March 31, the "Spring Initiates Infinite Possibilities" Tianfu Consumption Season event was launched in Chengdu. In line with the characteristics of springtime consumption patterns in Sichuan, this event will focus on nighttime consumption, trade-in consumption, and trendy consumption. It will organize a series of spring consumption promotion activities under the "1+6+N" framework, comprising one launch event, six special activities, and numerous promotional activities. The event will run until the end of May, engaging 21 cities (prefectures), 17 business associations, and 11,000 merchants in the province, aiming to ignite a consumption boom throughout Sichuan.

Cultivating and Strengthening New Types of Consumption: Night Economy and Event Economy as Highlights

"Nighttime transactions in Sichuan accounted for 50.8 percent of the province's total daily trading volume, ranking first nationwide." At the launch event, Li Ning, Vice President of Public Affairs at Meituan, presented the 2024 Night Economy Development Report. The report revealed that in 2024, over half of the consumption in Sichuan occurred during nighttime hours, and the transaction value of key consumption categories in Sichuan ranked fourth across the nation, marking a 13.6 percent increase compared to 2023. "Among them, Chengdu stands out with its nighttime consumption scale, accounting for 65 percent of the province's total," according to the report.

How can the "heat" of nighttime consumption be sustainably boosted in Sichuan? Li Ning recommended, "We should start by extending nighttime operating hours, launching nighttime promotional activities, creating distinctive nighttime consumption scenarios, and improving supporting services for the nighttime economy." Li Ning suggested developing cultural night markets featuring nighttime cultural performances and immersive theater experiences, with a focus on Sichuan Opera, face changing, shadow puppetry, and other artistic elements.

Beyond the night economy, the sports event economy has also become a major highlight in Sichuan's efforts to cultivate and expand new-type consumption. At the launch event, Feng Zhe, a Sichuan-born gymnastics Olympic champion, shared a short story: Last year, his friend came to Chengdu from Guangzhou to experience the city's gold-standard football culture while returning with two boxes of hotpot base.

By transforming the "traffic" of events into the "energy" of consumption, Sichuan's event economy demonstrates immense underlying consumer potential. Take the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, held at the end of last year in Chengdu. It is estimated that this event generated 380 million yuan in consumer spending, with even the egg pancake stalls outside the Sichuan Gymnasium seeing long queues.

In addition, at the launch event, representatives from Beijing Yaodi Agricultural Technology Development Co., Ltd., Chengdu Huawa Network Technology Co., Ltd., and Chengdu Yinba Catering Management Co., Ltd. shared new consumption trends in new retail development, flower consumption, and Sichuan-style culinary consumption, respectively. At the same time, the consumption season event will leverage the commercial setting of the "Xicun Night Market" in Xicun Courtyard to create a vibrant exhibition area for the Spring Tide Cultural-Creative Pop-up Market.

Spring Consumption Boost: Launching Numerous Consumption Promotion Activities

This year, Sichuan will guide various regions in organizing over 30,000 consumer promotion activities centered around the theme of the four seasons. As the opening act, what major moves have been made by the "Spring Initiates Infinite Possibilities" Tianfu Consumption Season?

A relevant leading official from the Department of Commerce introduced that this event would revolve around six major areas: Spring Shopping, Spring Nights, Spring Banquets, Spring Entertainment, Spring Appreciation, and Spring Competitions, launching six special activities and a series of consumption promotion activities organized by business associations and market entities. Among them, the consumer goods trade-in program remains a key focus for stimulating consumption potential. Sichuan will launch a series of activities under the "Tianfu Travel" consumer goods trade-in program, collaborate with Douyin to host the "New Car Trade-in Season" to promote automobile consumption, and create scenarios such as the "Renewed Life Check-In Map" by partnering with events like the Chengdu Tianfu Home Expo, focusing on home appliances, digital products, and kitchen and bathroom fixtures.

In the fun-loving Sichuan, traveling has also become a new engine for stimulating consumption vitality. Sichuan will soon unveil the "Endless Night in Tianfu" themed lifestyle festival, collaborating with major commercial districts and distinctive districts, such as Tiexiangsi Water Street in Chengdu and Zhanggongqiao in Leshan, offering exclusive vouchers, time-limited discounts, and gift-with-purchase promotions to spur consumption. The province will launch the "Travel with the Events" series of activities and hold springtime sports-themed consumption events, such as the "Enjoy Exciting Events, Savor Chinese Cuisine" and the fifth "Amidst Majestic Mountains and Rivers: Celebrating Sports in Sichuan and Chongqing" sports tourism and leisure consumption season.

It's not just about fun; it's also about flavors. In conjunction with the release of the "Panda Gourmet Recommendation List", Sichuan will collaborate with over 20 listed restaurants to create "Spring Banquet Blind Boxes". These boxes will include time-limited discounts and meal deals, enticing food lovers to check in and try new dishes. In addition, Sichuan will organize a Sichuan-Chongqing Nighttime Economy Short Video Contest, release demonstration cases showcasing new business models in the night economy, and showcase the charm of the Sichuan-Chongqing night economy.

The leading official from the Department of Commerce stated that Sichuan will extensively mobilize business associations and market entities to coordinate a province-wide series of distinctive consumption promotion events spanning thousands of enterprises and stores, as well as roll out policies such as spring-themed characteristic consumption vouchers, reduced admission prices for tourist attractions, and fuel subsidies, aiming to promote local consumption, expand inbound spending, and unleash consumption vitality across various regions.