City boost for home appliance industry and shoppers

More promotions for energy-efficient home appliances, electronics and gadgets will be unveiled in conjunction with the Singles Day sales campaign, according to the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

Shanghai has expanded the number of eligible models and types of products to include 67 types of home appliances such as coffee machines, and home textile and home decoration materials.

A notice released by the Shanghai Administrative Committee of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization and Shanghai Commerce Commission, includes 160,000 models of products as eligible for subsidy.

"Follow-up promotional activities at community neighborhoods, major business districts and industrial parks will be staged in the near future as a part of the latest consumption-driven campaign," said the commerce commission's Deputy Director Liu Min.

A total of 1,128 retail shops are eligible offline channels for customers to shop for subsidized items.

The expansion to a broader catalogue of products on top of the national-level subsidies schemes such as senior-friendly products, home appliances, household items, and furnishing materials has been driving sales in recent months.

The additional discounts for senior-friendly products have also been available to all buyers regardless of age or residency status.

Since early September, subsidies have been put in place that cover up to 20 percent of the purchase price for energy-efficient appliances, with a maximum of 2,000 yuan (US$281.76) per item.

Purchases of appliances with a Grade-1 energy label will receive a 20-percent discount, while those with a Grade-2 energy label will be eligible for a 15-percent discount.

Sales have been rising since the subsidies were first unveiled in early September, and more than 380,000 local shoppers have been covered by the discount schemes as of Tuesday.

Gaming laptops, ventilation system air conditioners, less energy-consuming refrigerators and laser TV have been popular items.

The online sales growth rate of items with additional government subsidies have doubled the industry average, according to the preliminary figures of Alibaba's retail shopping sites Taobao and Tmall.

International and domestic brands such as Haier, Midea, Dyson, Little Swan, and Covos have been embraced by online shoppers.

In addition to online stores such as Suning, JD, Tmall and Midea and Haier's official online stores, Pinduoudo, Bailian online store as well as official online shops for Lenovo and Microsoft will also be eligible channels for city-level subsidies in the future.