A saleswoman promotes products during a live-broadcast show. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

Xiaoshan district in Hangzhou has generated 3.26 billion yuan ($462 million) in consumption since the district launched a digital consumption fair half a month ago, local officials said.

With the building of the Xiaoshan digital living demonstration zone, tens of thousands of shops are being included in the digital commercial operation system to help traditional shops reduce costs and improve efficiency.

In late March, Xiaoshan began making efforts to build the zone in partnership with Alibaba Group, aiming to explore the new consumption model and stimulate domestic demand.

Ni Senjun, a salesman at Koubei, a life services platform affiliated with Alibaba, said that the platform has built a digital ecology system for shops which helps analyze consumer behavior, thus helping shops increase their table turnover rate.

According to Zhu Zhigang, deputy director of the Xiaoshan commerce bureau, the digital living demonstration zone uses digital technology such as big data and mobile payment to fuel consumption.

Since the launch of the digital consumption fair, many forms of trade have been moved online. 

Inlong Plaza in Xiaoshan district, which underwent a 23-day closure due to the virus outbreak, launched an online shopping mall soon after the plaza was allowed to resume operations.

According to Lao Huandong, administrative manager of the plaza, the plaza has seen a rapid rise in sales volume since the opening of the fair.

Many people from other cities and provinces became customers of the plaza, with current online sales exceeding 10 million yuan a day. 

Representatives unveil the plaque for Koubei Street, a part of Xiaoshan digital living demonstration zone co-built by the Xiaoshan government and Alibaba Group's life services arm Koubei. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]