In July 2026, Shanghai's interest economy showed strong momentum in driving consumption. BilibiliWorld 2026 (BW2026) was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from July 10 to 12. The event featured 170 exhibitors and attracted 400,000 visits over three days from over 30 countries and regions.
Concurrently, as part of Yangpu District's activities for the 2026 'Shanghai Summer' International Consumption Season, the Third Shanghai Dimension Roaming Month commenced at Wujiaochang Square. The event saw the debut of the limited-time pop-up store for the heavyweight national-style IP 'Dà Shèng Jué Qǐ' (Great Sage Rising) and the launch of the 'Roaming Realm·IP Co-creation Plan'. Young fans gathered for themed check-ins, limited-edition releases, and district-wide collaborations.
An industrial foundation supports the expansion of the interest economy in Shanghai. The Wujiaochang area is home to leading gaming and animation companies such as Bilibili and Perfect World, holding national-level IPs across domains like national-style animation, mobile gaming, and esports. Original content creators and experienced IP operations teams are based here, providing content supply for commercial cross-sector partnerships that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. Leveraging this industrial concentration, Bailian ZX Creative Fun Land has built a trendy toy hub, Hopson One has launched national limited-time pop-ups, Wujiaochang Wanda has partnered with Perfect World to host themed exhibitions, and University Road has organized IP-themed markets, covering diverse scenes for young demographics.
The two-way empowerment between digital content and physical commerce forms the core logic of the interest economy. Wujiaochang utilizes the traffic channels of entertainment enterprises to direct online exposure to offline malls through in-app live-streaming zones, homepage topic placements, game client push notifications, and influencer-created short videos. The 'Great Sage Rising' pop-up store transports scenes and characters with Chinese mythological aesthetics from the screen into urban public spaces, collaborating with Queen Studios and INART Action to release limited-edition collectible statues and articulated figures. Immersive experiences extend dwell time, and when combined with district consumption vouchers and co-branded meal sets, they drive revenue growth across retail, dining, and apparel. Merchants reported that during peak IP events, store traffic and turnover multiplied several times compared to normal days.
According to the Consumer Market Big Data Lab, during last year's inaugural Shanghai International Game and Animation Month, major activities drove related consumption of 1.805 billion yuan, with offline dining and retail in linked districts growing by 20.7%.
Precise policy support is helping the interest economy evolve from short-term activities to a long-term ecosystem. In January 2026, Shanghai issued 'Several Measures to Promote the Synergistic Development of Service Industry Quality Enhancement, Consumption Boosting, and Capacity Expansion', comprising 28 specific policies. The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce is advancing tiered and categorized consumption promotion, vigorously developing emerging formats such as the 'two-dimensional' economy favored by young people. At the opening ceremony of the Dimension Roaming Month, Yangpu District promoted regional esports industry support policies, releasing policy dividends for high-quality cultural and creative enterprises and IP landing projects.
The 'Roaming Realm·IP Co-creation Plan', initiated by Guzi Technology and Culture Co., Ltd., consists of two modules: IP visual design and IP application scenario design. It aims to connect national-tide IPs, commercial scenarios, and scientific innovation resources, building an open and win-win platform for incubating original domestic IPs. It opens commercial display resources to small and medium original Chinese comic teams, lowering growth barriers and establishing normalized display and commercial channels for domestic national-style content.