“Stay-put” Spring Festival sparks consumption boom

China’s catering sector saw about 821 billion yuan (about $127 billion) in the combined sales of key retail and catering enterprises during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday that lasted from Feb. 11 to 17, marking a year-on-year growth of 28.7 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by the country’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC). On the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve, as more Chinese have stayed put ,the number of online orders for food delivery services surged by 70 percent year on year, while popular catering brands witnessed an 82-percent sharp rise in sales of takeout food, as shown by data from Meituan Dianping.