Shanghai retail sales hit 327.6 billion yuan in Q1

Retail sales of Shanghai reached 327.6 billion yuan ($48.18 billion) in the first quarter of the year, rising 6.3 percent from the same period last year.

Shanghai plans to accelerate the development of retail sales by upgrading the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and Xintiandi. The city will also open more duty-free outlets.

Total sales of duty-free shops in Shanghai reached 13 billion yuan last year.

Ten Chinese provinces outpaced the national retail sales growth in the first quarter of this year, official data showed.

Anhui, Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces topped the provincial retail sales chart by growing at 11.1 percent in Q1, faster than the national average of 8.3 percent in nominal terms.

Other above-average performers include Fujian, Hubei, Henan, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang and Hebei provinces.

Tianjin reported the lowest retail sales growth by falling 2.6 percent year on year, mainly dragged down by weak consumption of automobiles, food and petroleum and related products. Retail sales of Beijing and Shanghai grew 3.8 percent and 6.3 percent year on year, respectively.