Shoppers at a supermarket in Da Nang City
Shopping tourism is showing its power as a business driver and, at the same time, it is pushing a deep transformation of the service and retail industry. Mr. Tran Van Vu, Director of Da Nang Statistics Department, said that in the first six months of the year, the service sector's growth was estimated at 9.82 percent over the same period contributing to the overall increase of 89.95 percent.
Direct shopping activities are showing good signs of recovery after the pandemic is controlled, along with that, e-commerce has not stopped growing strongly in recent years. The growth of the trade sector in the first six months is estimated at 5.9 percent over the same period, contributing 0.69 percentage points, with the proportion contributing 9.5 percent to the city’s overall Gross Regional Domestic Product growth.
In terms of commerce, it is estimated that in the first six months of 2022, retail sales of goods reached VND31,917 billion (US$1,4 million), up 9.5 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Of which, out of 11 groups of goods, six have seen a higher increase including precious stones, precious metals and products (+36.6 percent), garments (+31.4 percent), automobiles of all kinds (+21.8 percent), cultural and educational items (+20.1 percent), gasoline and oil of all kinds (+16.3 percent), food and foodstuffs (+13.6 percent).
Nevertheless, out of 11 groups of goods, three had decreased revenue over the same period including means of transport excluding cars (-7.0 percent), motor vehicle repair (-4.9 percent), household appliances, tools, and equipment (-4.6 percent).
If excluding the price increase factor, the total retail sales of goods in the first six months of 2022 were estimated to increase by 6.7 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade, trade and service growth again after two years of stagnation shows that people's consumption is increasing gradually.
For the continued growth momentum, in the program of socio-economic recovery and development, the Department also emphasized creating favorable conditions for enterprises and business establishments with a focus on activities to support enterprises in export promotion, mainly through the connection of Vietnam Trade Offices in other countries, and encourage enterprises to participate in online trade promotion activities through electronic connection under the National Trade Promotion Program.
At Co.opmart Da Nang, from the beginning of June until now, the supermarket has welcomed nearly 4,000 customers every day, up 38 percent over the same period; average sales increased 11 percent over the same period.
Mr. Nguyen Dac Thuan, Head of Marketing Department at Co.opmart Da Nang, said that customers come to the supermarket not only to shop but also to visit and spend on entertainment and dining services. Presently, students are enjoying their summer vacation, therefore, parents let their children go out a lot, so the shoppers are forecast to continue to increase.
In particular, despite pressure from suppliers to raise prices, many retail businesses are looking for solutions to stabilize the commodity market in the context of high gasoline and oil prices and promotions to stimulate consumer demand.
According to Ms. Le Thi Hien, Director of Co.opmart Son Tra, so far, the supermarket has coordinated with suppliers to have a plan to reduce prices continuously for at least the next three months for essential groups such as rice, livestock meat, poultry, some dairy products, spices, as well as dry foods. The supermarket will reserve about 80-100 tons for these commodities with the expected price reduction from 10 percent-25 percent.
