Supermarkets pull in customers

High quality goods and frequent big sales are drawing large numbers of shoppers to supermarkets and away from traditional markets, sending the latter into decline.

Supermarkets in HCM City are thronged with customers during weekends, attracting upper to middle-income customers.

“My family has been shopping for food at a modern supermarket for more than a year,” said Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa, who lives in District 3.

“We’re attracted by not only good prices but also food safety and hygiene,” she added, noting that she frequents Big C Supermarket in District 10 instead of nearby markets.

In addition, with many long-term sales, supermarket chains in the city saw their revenue rise sharply last month.

Big C launched a Celebrating Vietnamese Beauty programme with discounts on more than 500 cosmetic and beauty products and an Unprecedented Prices programme with discounts of up to 50 per cent on 250 basic items.

The Co-op Mart chain has offered discounts of up to 50 per cent on 2,800 products together with hundreds of thousands of discount coupons for its customers.

The Co-op Mart chain saw both its number of customers and revenue increase by more than 40 per cent compared to the same period last year, while Big C almost doubled its revenue, especially for food and comestics.

“Repeat big sales are one of the key factors that lure more and more customers to our supermarkets,” said Le Quang Thuc Quynh, marketing director of the Co-op Mart chain.

Quynh said that her chain would stabilise prices and launch more sales programmes in the future to keep customers.

For the time being, Coop Mart supermarkets are discounting more than 800 children’s products up to 40 per cent until June 6.

In contrast, traditional markets have suffered a loss of customers and drop in revenue at the same time.

Purchases at Hoc Mon District’s Tan Xuan and District 8′s Binh Dien Wholesale Markets, which supply goods to retail markets in the city, have fallen dramatically, according to their managing boards.

“Vegetable prices in supermarkets are lower than in markets, and some of the sellers here have even taken advantage of sales in supermarkets to get merchandises to re-sell,” said Hoang Ngoc Ha,ø who sells vegetables at a market on District 1′s Ham Nghi Street.

“How can we sell products which are not comparable in terms of price and quality?” — VNS

Tags: Supermarkets, vietnam retail industry, Vietnam retail market, Vietnam Retail sector