A host sells laundry products at a livestream session in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

Taizhou's Luqiao district has recorded remarkable growth in online retail sales during the first five months of this year, according to the latest data.

Leveraging new business models and innovative retail strategies, Luqiao achieved a total of 5.73 billion yuan ($804.27 million) in online retail sales from January to May, representing an impressive year-on-year increase of 37.2 percent, faster than any other administrative area in Taizhou.

As of the end of May, there were a total of 3,690 active online retail stores operating on third-party e-commerce platforms in Luqiao district, while the number of employees engaged in e-commerce reached 39,224.

The primary product categories driving online retail sales in the district during this five-month period were clothing, shoes, hats, textiles, daily necessities, automobiles, hardware, and electrical materials. These categories collectively accounted for more than 80 percent of the total online sales. Notably, clothing, shoes, hats and textiles represented nearly half of the sales.

Zhou Xiqian, chief engineer of the Luqiao Bureau of Commerce, explained, "Previously, e-commerce in Luqiao district mainly revolved around traditional platforms like Tmall, Taobao, and JD.com. However, businesses have now shifted their focus towards live-streaming e-commerce, social e-commerce, and community group-buying e-commerce as part of their transformation and upgrading."