The Jiangnan Joy City shopping mall in Wuxi is a popular destination for local residents during the May Day holiday. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

Nearly 60 retail and catering businesses in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, generated 534 million yuan ($77.21 million) in total sales during the five-day May Day holiday, which ended on May 3.

The figure represents a 15.6 percent year-on-year increase.

A scenic attraction in Wuxi is crowded with tourists during the May Day holiday. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

The uptick in consumer spending was due to a series of consumption promotion activities.

In addition to the online shopping festival organized by the Wuxi municipal bureau of commerce, the city's districts and counties launched a variety of online and offline activities.

For example, there was a rock and roll music festival and car boot sale in Huishan district, firework music festival in Binhu district while Wuxi Economic Development District issued 5 million yuan in coupons.

Eateries in a shopping mall are crowded with customers during the May Day holiday. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

The catering market did even better. The 15 catering businesses that were monitored experienced a 96.1 percent year-on-year increase, among which the time-honored Tongqing Restaurant saw a 250 percent year-on-year increase in sales revenue during the holiday.

An auto show organized by Wuxi Daily Group and the Wuxi Automobile Dealers Industry Association attracted nearly 55,000 visitors and saw 280 million yuan in turnover over the past five days.