On New Year's Day, Nanjing's consumer market was already bustling with activity. New commercial venues opened intensively, offering consumers fresh shopping choices; the integration of culture, commerce, tourism, and sports created immersive consumption scenarios, while first-time exhibitions and debuts unlocked novel holiday experiences; the launch of favorable national subsidies, coupled with multi-layered discounts from government-enterprise collaborations, unleashed significant consumer vitality. A visit revealed that new scenes, new venues, and new promotions are bringing a fresh wave of consumer enthusiasm, continuously igniting spending fervor.
Refreshed scenarios, with first-time debuts and exhibitions, have become the key to attracting foot traffic. On the first day of the New Year holiday, Nanjing's Xinjiekou business district was teeming with crowds and vibrant energy, as major shopping malls welcomed a surge of local residents and tourists for shopping and entertainment. At Nanjing's Deji Plaza, the recently launched national debut of the healing-themed IP "YOMeeDoll Little Penguin" attracted a steady stream of visitors eager to take photos. "We use the penguin's fluffy form as a medium to transform the abstract emotion of 'warm healing power' into an immersive experience, using the scene to build a deep emotional connection with consumers," a marketing executive from Deji Plaza explained, noting the IP boasts over 2 million online followers and its stickers have been sent more than 2 billion times. In recent years, Nanjing has vigorously developed the "first-release economy," and during the holiday, a batch of first stores and exhibitions became major draws for customers. In a blue-and-white-toned "ice and snow" setting, with ice hut installations arranged picturesquely, many consumers raised their phones to take pictures with the penguins. At Huacai Tiandi, the Jiangsu debut of a themed exhibition and pop-up store featuring the classic animated character Pingu became the mall's main attraction, with an array of themed merchandise particularly catching the eyes of many young people. "I really love this cartoon and came specifically for the exhibition. The scenes are very photogenic, and I bought quite a few souvenirs. I'll post them on my social media right away," happily showed Cao Meng, a citizen born after 2000, holding a newly purchased penguin doll. The national debut of the "Peppa Pig Warm Winter Adventure" exhibition at Yuhua Vientiane Mixc also attracted numerous visitors. The exhibition, combined with a winter theme, created several brightly colored interactive photo spots and parent-child play areas. Scenes like the pink Peppa doll and a snowy winter courtyard kept the children laughing continuously. A mall representative mentioned that during the holiday, activities such as musical performances and romantic artificial snowfall were also set up.
New commercial venues are opening, bringing fresh shopping choices to consumers. On December 29, 2025, Jiangning Baolong Plaza, located at the intersection of Danxia Street and Kaicheng Road in Jiangning District, opened its doors to customers. During the New Year holiday, many nearby residents came to shop and dine. This mall is situated in the core area of the Qilin Science and Technology Innovation Park, serving a radius covering approximately 400,000 permanent residents, effectively filling the gap for a large-scale commercial center in the area. The 80,000-square-meter shopping center focuses on lifestyle and social scenes, offering retail, dining, and daily necessities, introducing over 200 brands, more than 70% of which are first-store brands, providing area residents with a diverse, all-scenario consumption experience. The Yonghui Superstores Co.,Ltd. store in Nanjing Jiangning Baolong Plaza, which opened on the same day, is the first new store in Nanjing to adopt the Pang Donglai model and was exceptionally crowded during the holiday. "I live nearby, so life will be more convenient now," said Auntie Li, a citizen who bought many items at the supermarket. Capitalizing on the peak holiday consumption period, the wave of commercial venue renewals spread across the city. On December 24 of the previous year, Neng Yue Fang on Heyan Road in Gulou District officially debuted, attracting over 15,000 visitors within the first hour of opening. After being closed for over a year for upgrades, Wanggu Hui, an established commercial complex in the Maigaoqiao business district of Qixia District, also reopened on December 19 of the previous year. Visits revealed that these newly opened commercial complexes in local neighborhoods are becoming the new preferred destinations for residents to shop and celebrate the holidays.
Warm discounts and promotions, including the launch of national subsidy benefits and multiple福利福利, are releasing consumer vitality. On New Year's Day, Nanjing welcomed the benefits of national subsidies. Starting January 1, Nanjing fully launched subsidies for the trade-in of six categories of home appliances and for purchasing four categories of new digital products. The city's automobile consumption subsidies also went live simultaneously, offering subsidies for either scrapping old vehicles or trading them in for new ones. On the same day, visits to JD.com MALL and Suning.com showed many consumers already inquiring about the "national subsidies." A relevant负责人 from JD.com Appliances stated that besides the national subsidies, JD.com Appliances had already commenced its 2026 New Year promotional campaign before the holiday, centered around the theme "10 Days and 10 Nights of New Year's Eve Carnival," and collaborated with leading home appliance brands to create a diverse festive feast. The promotion offered practical service packages covering minor renovations and heating upgrades, while also creating immersive scenes like art exhibitions and New Year's Eve parties, presenting consumers with a dual gift of "value and fun." Purchasing selected "Star" products like mobile phones and appliances at JD.com MALL or JD.com Appliances City Flagship Stores entitled customers to subsidies ranging from 10% to 25%. Suning.com also announced it would actively coordinate with the national subsidies, continuously adding corporate subsidies, and upgrading its trade-in services. During the New Year holiday, the密集的 preferential policies and promotional activities injected a warm current into the consumer market. Jianye District distributed 1 million yuan in consumption vouchers, offering instant discounts upon reaching certain spending thresholds when paying via Alipay's "Touch to Pay" feature at participating stores. The Municipal Commerce Bureau, in collaboration with major e-commerce platforms and enterprises, launched a series of consumption promotion activities, creating a new consumption ecosystem driven by both "offline scenarios and online traffic." Meituan and Taobao Quick Purchase launched events like the Nanjing Shopping Spree, distributing coupon packages focused on dining, accommodation, and leisure entertainment scenarios; Dingdong Maicai and Hema enriched the New Year's consumption supply through substantial spend-and-save offers and red packet giveaways; Alipay conducted a "Touch to Pay" instant discount activity.
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