RETAIL sales in Shanghai rose 10.7 percent year on year during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday driven by spending in department stores and shopping malls, the Shanghai Commission of Commerce said in a statement yesterday.

A sample of 400 major retailers and restaurants in Shanghai revealed they had 11.16 billion yuan (US$1.68 billion) of sales during the eight-day holiday from October 1 to yesterday.

Convenience stores saw a drop in sales but sales at department stores, shopping malls, supermarkets, and specialty stores all rose, the commission said. Eight major shopping malls in Shanghai saw their sales grow over 20 percent year on year.