Chinese Valentine's Day sees sales up as sweethearts splash out

BEIJING -- China's Qixi Festival, or the Chinese Valentine's Day, saw surging sales of flowers, milk tea and gold jewelry on Tuesday as many couples marked the festival with dining and exchanging gifts.

By noon on Tuesday, orders for fresh flowers on Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan soared nearly 30 percent year-on-year. Data from online delivery service provider Eleme showed that delivery orders for fresh flowers jumped about 50 percent year-on-year ahead of the Qixi Festival.

The popular Chinese drink chain HEYTEA said that some of its outlets saw sales during the festival rise more than 600 percent over last Tuesday, with one store selling some 4,500 cups of tea drinks in a day.

Jewelry brands also raced to roll out promotion campaigns, offering price cuts ranging from 30 yuan ($4.11) to 50 yuan per gram on gold jewelry, attracting swarms of consumers.

China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, rose 2.5 percent in July and 7.3 percent during the January-July period, pointing to steady consumption growth.