As the China International Import Expo (CIIE) concludes in Shanghai, exhibitors are moving right onto their next battleground, this time online.

"I think for us because of the timing of CIIE, which is just one week before Double 11, we use CIIE obviously to really promote our brand, because you get a lot of publicity out of CIIE, and that leads nicely into Double 11," says Blackmores, an Australian health supplements company.

Blackmores is among the many foreign brands who have taken part in both CIIEs, and like many, their booth this time has featured QR codes with links to their online store, which is now offering a range of promotional activities for Double 11, China's biggest shopping promotion event.

Since the CIIE is only for exhibition and not for on-site transactions, exhibitors at the inaugural event were surprised to find out there was immediate consumption interest among visitors, many of whom despite coming as part of a professional group were also scouting the pavilions themselves just to see what was on display.

"Last year, a lot of consumers wanted to buy, but we had no solution, that's why we prepared the QR code this year," said Bosch Home Appliances, which also promises "nice prices and a lot of gifts" for the Double 11 shopping bonanza.

"There is quite a lot I would want to buy, many things that we didn't know previously, because we knew the domestic brands more and now we can see some pretty technologically-advanced stuff from other countries," said a visitor.

Stenders, another lifestyle brand specializing in bodycare products, says that at the first few days of the expo they had about 2,000 people joining their members' club online every day, with thousands more towards the end of the exhibition, adding that their flagship store on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Tmall is now offering synchronized pre-sell for products premiered at the CIIE.