Lishui city – located in East China's Zhejiang province – experienced a boom in consumer spending last year, with total retail sales surging 13.1 percent to 82.29 billion yuan ($12.97 billion), according to official data.

The growth rate ranked No 1 in all cities in Zhejiang and was 3.4 percentage points higher than the province's average.

Total retail sales of Lishui enterprises above a designated scale – retail enterprises with annual main revenue of 5 million yuan and above – was 14.99 billion yuan last year, up 11.2 percent year-on-year.

Data showed steady growth in food and clothing in Lishui in the year. The retail sales of grains, edible oils and foodstuffs, clothing, shoes, hats, and knitwear, as well as daily necessities categories increased by 9.2 percent, 23.6 percent and 29 percent, respectively, year-on-year. 

During the period, the retail sales of cosmetics, photographic equipment, and household appliances and audio, video equipment in Lishui increased by 55.9 percent, 58.1 percent and 29.0 percent, respectively, reflecting the strong momentum for consumers to upgrade their wares.

In addition, driven by online shopping festivals and e-commerce platforms' promotion activities, Lishui's total retail sales of e-commerce enterprises above a designated scale reached 3.19 billion yuan, up 30.8 percent year-on-year.