Shopping plus 'experience' - what a bargain!

Despite the chill on a windy, mid-winter Sunday in Shanghai, Zhu Yanzi, a 23-year-old woman from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, took a two-hour train ride and then made an hour-long subway dash to reach the city's downtown Huanghai Road to "join the events" at department stores.

Such is the pull of these events at retailers that consumers from near and far feel compelled to troop in, and end up spending much more than they had initially planned.

Zhu, for one, planned a tightly-scheduled one-day trip to Shanghai with a budget of 500 yuan ($79.4) for travel tickets, dining and beverages. At the end of the day, however, the one-day Shanghai visit set her back by more than 1,000 yuan.