Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

Despite a shopping spree in chain retailers during the past week-long National Day holiday, supermarkets and hypermarkets in downtown areas saw declines in business, today's Youth Daily said, citing the latest data from the Shanghai Economic Commission.
The Commission's survey of 46 chain supermarkets and hypermarkets indicates that retailers harvested revenue of 1.5 billion yuan (US$235 million) from October 1-7, an increase of 11.7 percent over the same period of last year.  Six retailers in downtown areas saw a decline in sales of 2.7 percent to 665 million yuan.
Analysts blamed the sales dip to the particularities of the retailers, noting that shoppers in downtown areas mainly hunt for mid-to-high-end products as opposed to the daily necessities and utensils that can be found in supermarkets.
At the same time, it also reflects poor promotional strategies on their part, the analysts pointed out.