Hainan duty free sales soar +156% during Spring Festival to US$305 million

Crowds continued to pour into China Duty Free Group’s Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex in Haitang Bay this week even after the official end of the holidays {All pictures courtesy of Mirko Wang, Jessica’s Secret, taken 8 February}
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CHINA. Sales at Hainan’s offshore duty free stores surged by +151% year-on-year during the recent Spring Festival holidays to CNY2.13 billion (US$333) million, according to the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce.

For the holiday period 31 January to 6 February, duty free sales alone grew by +156% to CNY1.94 billion (US$305 million), with the balance being generated by tax/duty paid sales.

The number of shoppers rose by +138% year-on-year to 300,000 while the number of duty free items purchased grew by +157% to 1,815,800

The news was first released by Hainan Hinews Media Co, The Moodie Davitt Report’s strategic partner in Hainan province.

Hainan Hinew’s popular New Hainan app (which boasts the world’s only online duty free channel and 3 million followers) reported that in the lead-up to this year’s Spring Festival, the Hainan Provincial Department of Commerce hosted a meeting of all the island’s duty free retailers to set annual sales targets and develop specific measures to promote New Year consumption.

New Hainan, an app with 3 million followers and its own digital duty free channel, broke the original story. The platform is run by Hainan Hinews Media Co, The Moodie Davitt Report’s strategic partner in Hainan province.

Marketing campaigns were launched during the holidays by CDFG (Good fortune & greater prosperity in the Year of the Tiger; 中免福气,如虎添翼); HTDF (CNY super deals for all; 新春福利大放送); GDF (Shopping experience as usual at GDF; GDF新春不打烊); CNSC (Good fortune in the Year of the Tiger from CNSC; 服虎送福); and TimesDF (Anniversary celebration: A thank-you message for choosing TimesDF; 一路前行 感恩有你; coupons worth more than CNY3,000 were distributed to each customer)

In order to further promote the offshore duty free benefits and policies, with the support from the Big Data Administration of Hainan Province and other related government authorities, a dedicated offshore duty free section was created on the homepage of Hainan’s integreated service platform Haiyiban (海易办).

This promoted the benefits of duty free shopping and acted as a channel for coupon collection. A total of 200,000+ duty free shopping coupons were distributed during the holidays.

Coming soon

The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to announce the launch of 穆迪达维特中国旅游零售报告 – The Moodie Davitt China Travel Retail Report, a digital magazine dedicated to our industry’s hottest market.

The new digital title, to be launched in April, will be published in Mandarin and English five times a year across multiple platforms.

The launch edition will explore China Duty Free Group’s extraordinary rise over recent years to become the world’s number one travel retailer, together with a host of other high-quality features, analysis and interviews

This exciting new digital magazine from the world’s leading travel retail publisher will focus on all aspects of China’s travel-related ecosystem, including:

  • Airport retail (domestic and international)
  • Airport food & beverage
  • Airport advertising
  • Ecommerce
  • Land border, downtown and cruiseline retail
  • Mixed-use leisure and tourism developments
  • Offshore duty free retail and the Hainan Free Trade Port
  • Social media
  • + All the latest brand and retailer activations

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