This year marks the fifth anniversary of the proposal of the People's City concept. As the place where it was first proposed, Yangpu, with its booming digital economy development and vibrant life, let's feel this increasingly "YOUNG" people's city...

Shanghai Soapmaking, Shanghai Watch, Meilin Zhengguang River, Shanghai Piano... When it comes to these time-honored brands, many "old Shanghainese" are familiar with them. They not only carry the industrial civilization of "Yangshupu" and the childhood memories of Shanghainese but have also become the "new consumer landscape" of "Digital Yangpu."

Embarking on the "Digital Express," "Time-Honored Brands" Accelerate on the "New Track"

Opening the food delivery app, "old Shanghai delicacies" such as Xiandelai Pork Ribs Rice Cake and Yixinzhai Beef Baked Buns can be "at your fingertips." Leading digital economy enterprises have introduced special support policies for Shanghai's time-honored brands, investing hundreds of millions of traffic resources, millions of goods subsidy resources, etc., to support and encourage the operation of time-honored brands. Expanding the "map" of consumption scenarios, reaching local young consumers faster—in the past year, more than 200 Shanghai time-honored brands have been searched 870 million times, with more than 30 million relevant video submissions and a cumulative playback volume of 48.2 billion. "Through digital transformation, enterprises have continuously achieved breakthroughs in operation and development innovation. Online operation not only brings traffic to commercial districts but also increases merchants' repurchase rate by guiding consumers to experience offline through group coupons, making old brands in the park more willing to go out and promoting the overall prosperity of the 'ecosystem'..."

Yangpu People's City New Practice: Integration of Digital and Real Economy, Warm Live-Streaming Economy Cluster

Xiandelai Pork Ribs Rice Cake, Dongtaixiang Shengjiang, Shendacheng Wonton, Laoshengxing Soup Dumplings, Dafugui Salted Pork Rice, delicious and affordable, and you can have a different dish every weekday. These brands offer both dine-in and delivery. On weekdays, Mr. Zhou from Shanghai often recommends his lunch choices to his colleagues from other places. In Shanghai, there are many young people like Mr. Zhou who treat old restaurants as their "weekday canteen."

Purchasing quality services from old-brand restaurants at more affordable prices is the "quality-price ratio" that many young people pursue nowadays. The "2023 Catering Old Brand Consumption Report" released by Meituan shows that in 2023, the in-store group buying orders of catering old brands with a history of ten years or more on Meituan and Dianping increased by 90% year-on-year. The trend of young consumers of catering old brands is obvious, with consumers under 30 accounting for 35%, 9 percentage points higher than in 2022.

Embarking on the "digital express" is the main way for time-honored brands and old brands to achieve renewed development.

At present, our district is deeply implementing the "chain leader system" of focused industrial chains and accelerating the construction of a "1+2+3+4" innovation-oriented modern industrial system with the digital economy as the core dominant. Currently, our district has gathered more than 7,000 digital economy enterprises. Relying on the advantages and influence of industrial agglomeration, our district is accelerating the construction of a live-streaming economy cluster integrating high-quality products, content creation, talent cultivation, and public services. Time-honored brands such as Shanghai Soapmaking, Shanghai Watch, Meilin Zhengguang River, and Shanghai Piano not only carry the history of "Yangshupu" but have also become the "new consumer landscape" of "Digital Yangpu."

Located in Yangpu Riverside, Shanghai International Fashion Center was formerly the National Cotton 17 Factory. Nowadays, the bustling factory workshops have long been replaced by the dazzling "fashion show." Recently, it has become an "integration show" for time-honored brands and leading digital economy enterprises—the "Shanghai Summer" and Douyin Life Service "Heartwarming Time-Honored Brands" special salon activity was held, which is also one of the series of activities of "Thousands of Enterprises on the Platform" in Yangpu District.

Douyin Life Service has introduced special support policies for Shanghai's time-honored brands. In terms of product equity, it certifies exclusive "Chinese Time-Honored Brand" or "Local Time-Honored Brand" labels for time-honored merchants to reflect the cultural characteristics of the brand. In terms of operation support, it will invest hundreds of millions of traffic resources, millions of goods subsidy resources, etc., to support and encourage the operation of time-honored brands. At the same time, it will form a "Time-Honored Brand Recommender" team to continuously promote Shanghai's time-honored brands and tell brand stories...

Expanding the "Map" of Consumption Scenarios, Reaching Local Young Consumers Faster

Shanghai has a profound historical and cultural heritage, and more than 200 time-honored brands are important carriers of Shanghai's culture. At the activity, Huang Qiyang, Director of the Board Office of Yuyuan Inc., stated that through digital transformation, enterprises have continuously achieved breakthroughs in operation and development innovation. Online operation not only brings traffic to commercial districts but also increases merchants' repurchase rate by guiding consumers to experience offline through group coupons, making old brands in the park more willing to go out and promoting the overall prosperity of Yuyuan's "ecosystem."

The first "Shanghai Summer" International Consumption Season was launched in July, and Douyin Life Service launched a series of Shanghai Summer activities. Data from Douyin Life Service shows that from mid-July to mid-August, group buying consumption on Shanghai Douyin Life Service increased by 92% month-on-month. In the past year, more than 200 Shanghai time-honored brands have been searched 870 million times on Douyin, with more than 30 million relevant video submissions and a cumulative playback volume of 48.2 billion, indicating their high popularity.

Cao Miao, Business Vice President of Douyin Life Service, introduced that in the past year, the sales of Shanghai time-honored merchants entering the Douyin Life Service platform increased by 1917% year-on-year, and the number of orders increased by 461% year-on-year, including merchants well-known to Shanghai citizens such as Laoshengchang Soup Dumplings, Laomiao Gold, and Peace Hotel.

Nowadays, on the Meituan food delivery app, consumers can easily find "old Shanghai delicacies" such as Xiandelai Pork Ribs Rice Cake and Yixinzhai Beef Baked Buns.

Young people exploring old restaurants on weekends is to satisfy their curiosity, while ordering takeout from old-brand restaurants on weekdays is a sense of security and stability. These consumption behaviors are driving the transformation of catering old brands towards the young market, an industry insider analyzed. In recent years, catering old brands have not only continued to innovate in dish flavors but also increased local supply and expanded operation methods with the help of online platforms such as Meituan. For example, they have opened up new takeout supply, integrated new business forms such as instant retail and community e-commerce, and expanded operation hours and scope. Through this series of innovative measures, catering old brands have been able to expand consumption scenarios and reach local young consumers with consumption potential more quickly.

Our district is making every effort to create the "warmest district" for the business environment. Through full-cycle and precise service support, it can better help enterprises develop and grow. The collaboration between time-honored brands and leading digital economy enterprises aligns with the needs of urban commercial development and the diverse consumption requirements of citizens. It is introduced that in the next step, the District Commerce Commission will actively promote the construction of an integrated live-streaming economy cluster, give full play to the driving effect of leading enterprises in the district, focus on building a new industrial ecosystem of cross-border integration, efficient collaboration, and win-win creation, and provide strong support for upstream and downstream enterprises to expand channel markets, strengthen brand building, and accelerate digital transformation.

Douyin Life Service will continue to help time-honored merchants tell their stories more widely, sell their products farther, and pass on their culture longer. Through keeping the essence while innovating, we will make consumers continuously impressed and contribute to the brand upgrade and innovative development of time-honored brands, said Cao Miao.