Advanced technology moved into retail space in Shenzhen this month. From 16 to 18 October, Futian district held its first Future in Shenzhen technology and lifestyle festival at the Zhonghangcheng Junshang shopping mall, turning the centre into a street of interactive technology displays.
On show were AI plant desk pets, powered outdoor exoskeletons and interactive robot dogs. The festival formed part of the wider Huaqiangbei consumption season and combined product trials with family activities and retail.
Retail as a demonstration floor
The format differed from a conventional trade show. Products were arranged around the narrative of a day in a future life, so that a shopper encountered the technology inside ordinary situations rather than on a display plinth.
Companies taking part included Ulsrobotics, Elephant Robotics and Anjie Robotics, presenting through stage demonstrations, street parades and hands-on sessions. A youth AI challenge ran alongside for families, and the organisers built a robot character, Xiao Hang, to link the different zones with collectible stamps and merchandise.
Why Huaqiangbei
Huaqiangbei is known as China’s first street of electronics. It has a mature electronics supply base and an unusually deep pool of consumer technology products. Over recent years its retail mix has shifted from component and device trading toward technology experience, trend retail and leisure.
The shift shows up in the numbers. According to the Huaqiangbei subdistrict office, sales of AI glasses, AI robots and AI drones rose around the Dragon Boat holiday, with malls running parallel promotions. Over the National Day holiday the district drew more than one million visitors a day, about 40 per cent above a normal day, with dining and retail in the complexes trading strongly.
For technology companies the mall offers something a trade fair cannot. It is a place to watch ordinary buyers react to a product with no briefing and no supervision, which is the closest thing to a market test that a consumer robotics company can buy for the price of a leasing agreement.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Shenzhen News report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://www.sznews.com/news/content/2026-10/17/content_32194134.htm.