Consumer demand spiked as many took advantage of the weekend to purchase essential goods.
Stalls selling candies, essential items, and fruits were particularly crowded. At checkout counters, long queues of customers waited to complete their transactions. Pushing a cart filled with Tet items out of GO! An Lac supermarket in Binh Tan District, Nguyen Xuan Thu shared, “I wanted to avoid the crowds closer to the holiday, so I shopped a week early, but it turns out many others had the same idea—it’s packed.”
Supermarkets like Co.opmart Nguyen Anh Thu in District 12, AEON Mall in Tan Phu District, and the MM Mega Market system in District 12, Thu Duc City, and District 6 also reported a significant increase in weekend shoppers. According to supermarket representatives, the surge in customers is due to Lunar New Year being just a week away. This period is crucial for year-end shopping and determines the year’s revenue for many retailers.
With many workers receiving their Tet bonuses, spending has become more relaxed. Preliminary estimates from some supermarkets show that demand for essential Tet items—such as candies, sugar-preserved fruit, meat, eggs, and milk—as well as cosmetics and fashion apparel, has increased by 50-100 percent compared to regular days.
Retailers are also offering aggressive discounts and promotions. From now until January 28, the Saigon Co.op system (Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Finelife) is selling Chilean cherries at VND199,000 per kg, which is 20-30 percent below the market price. Central Retail Group, which owns GO!, BigC, and Tops Market, is running its Tet gift basket program until January 28, offering gift baskets starting from VND300,000 and discounts of 5-10.5 percent for orders ranging from VND3 million to over VND400 million.
Wholesale markets in HCMC have also seen a rise in incoming goods and demand. At Hoc Mon wholesale market, daily imports have reached 2,300 tons, including 1,600 tons of vegetables, 320 tons of fruits, and 380 tons of pork. From the 25th to the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, goods volume is expected to rise by 30-50 percent, with pork seeing a 100-percent increase.
At Thu Duc and Binh Dien wholesale markets, incoming goods are expected to rise by 30-60 percent compared to normal days, with prices remaining relatively stable. A Satra system representative noted that this year, the company will supply approximately 3,600 tons of goods for Lunar New Year, an increase of over 8 percent compared to the same period last year.
