Late on the evening of February 5th (26th of Lunar month), many large supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Emart, Aeon, Big C…, were still crowded with shoppers. Among them, the most popular items were cakes, candies, and various kinds of dried food for Tet holiday.
Tet items are currently being sold at attractive discounts, such as cashews and peanuts priced at VND 220,000/kg, pickled seeds at VND 180,000/kg, and pumpkin seeds at VND 150,000/kg; shredded squid at VND 280,000/kg, and dried beef at VND 560,000/kg…
“Due to the supermarkets’ attractive Tết promotions, I brought my family here to enjoy some shopping. It’s surprising that every supermarket is so crowded. The variety of goods is amazing, and the staff keep restocking the shelves, so there’s always enough for customers” – Ms. My Trang (resident of Nguyen Oanh street, Go Vap district) said.
Many customers are choosing to buy fermented fruit juices, soft drinks, or non-alcoholic beer instead of regular beer for Tet holiday.
Instant noodles, instant pho, and instant rice noodles are being purchased by many customers. “Every household has chung cake and tet cake during Tet. Therefore, I buy instant noodles, vermicelli, and pho to add some variety and avoid getting bored. The prices are the same as usual, around VND 4,500 – 7,000 per pack depending on the type,” Ms. Thanh said.
Many customers are buying various types of cakes and candies as gifts or treats for guests.
At Emart supermarket, almost all products are discounted by around 20%, or even “buy one, get one free”…
A bakery counter filled with customers waiting to pay
Customers receive free gift wrapping services
At this time, supermarkets have opened additional checkout counters, extended serving hours from early morning until midnight, or until there are no more customers… For example, Satra supermarket is open from 7:00 am to 10:30 pm until the 29th of the Lunar month. On the 30th of the Lunar month, the supermarket is open until noon, and only closed on the 1st day of the Lunar New Year; on the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, it operates as usual. Emart Vietnam serves customers from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm; on the 30th of the Lunar month, it is open until noon; on the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, it returns to regular business hours…
However, due to the significantly increased number of customers and amount of goods, customers have to wait a long time to pay. “I have been waiting for nearly 30 minutes and it’s still not my turn. However, this is the common situation at many supermarkets during the pre-Tet days,” Mr. Binh (resident of Pham Van Dong street, Thu Duc City) shared.
Many people feel tired from waiting for too long…
Many supermarkets stated that this year they have increased their stock volume by 10% compared to last year. At the same time, they have many promotions and discounts to stabilize prices and encourage customers to shop more. The purchasing power for food items has slightly increased, while essential food items have seen a significant increase of about 50% compared to last year…
The in-store dining counters at supermarkets are also crowded with customers, even though it’s already late at night.
