Supermarkets replacing traditional markets

Supermarkets are always full of customers on all the days of the weeks, while markets are poorly patronized. Housewives tend to turn their back to traditional markets with old sales methods.

A representative from Co-op Mart said, the retail chain receives 200,000 visitors a day, while the figure would be higher by 30 percent on weekends and holidays. Meanwhile, many markets in HCM City reportedly have very few buyers these days.

Hoa, a customer of Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu, said she has to stay in the office from morning to afternoon and she can only go purchasing food for families’ meals late in the afternoon. At traditional markets, meat and vegetable become less fresh in the afternoon. Therefore, she decided to go to supermarkets instead of traditional markets, because she can buy fresh food there and buy at any time.

“Supermarkets prove to be very suitable to office workers,” Hoa said.

Meanwhile, supermarkets in HCM City are now running attractive sale promotion campaigns to attract housewives. At Co-op Mart and Bic C, sale promotion program are running on nearly all the days of the months, where big discount rates are offered for processed food, garments and cosmetics.

Duong Thi Quynh Trang, Public Relation Director of Bic C, said that the retailer is negotiating with suppliers in order to obtain best prices for consumers and organize sale promotion programs. Besides this, the retail chain also uses many measures to save electricity, which allows forcing the prices down. Every year, Big C can save 30 billion dong for the electricity bills.

Representative from Co-op Mart said that the joining to the price stabilization program, under which stable prices are applied for the products available at all supermarkets and convenience stores of the retail chains, can also bring a big advantage to Co-op Mart to attract customers.

While supermarkets have been trying their best to lure more customers, traditional markets have done nothing to upgrade themselves. Housewives now tend to “boycott” traditional markets, where small merchants always try to overcharge (sellers do not post sale prices at traditional markets) and cheat on the weight.

Traditional markets will be replaced with supermarkets

Nguyen Hoang Dong, Head of the Management Board of Vuon Chuoi Market, said that the number of visitors to the market has decreased by 20 percent. Due to the slow sale, a lot of small merchants have to stop their business or try to sell the kiosks.

A merchant of the Vuon Chuoi Market also said that she is now selling products mostly to loyal customers, while it is very difficult to sell products to visitors.

A survey conducted by Saigon Co-op, on 800 households on the criteria in choosing food for daily use, has found out that 98 percent of consumers consider food safety as the top priority requirement, while 89 percent of consumers pay attention to the sale prices.

Dr Le Tham Duong, Dean of the Business Administration Faculty of the HCM City Banking University, said that it is a socio-economic growing tendency that people to supermarkets instead of traditional markets.

Duong has cited a lot of reasons behind this, including the income and the income classification. Some people still go to traditional markets, while others go to supermarkets, because traditional markets and supermarkets fit different people with different income levels

Duong also said that the consumption habits have changed rapidly. Many people think that going to supermarkets show the high living quality. When going to traditional markets, buyers have to pay fees for traveling, bear rains and sun, and they face the risks of buying counterfeit or low quality goods. Meanwhile, the service quality of supermarkets has been upgraded considerably.

He went on to say that going to supermarkets is a growing tendency. “Supermarkets will reach out to rural and mountainous areas, and because of the competition, the quality of services will be upgraded,” he said.

In related news, Vietnamese consumers now tend to use domestically made goods instead of imports. In HCM City, 90-95 percent of products available at supermarkets were domestic products in 2010, while Vietnam made goods consumed at Saigon Co-op chain increased by 55 percent over 2009. – Vietnamnet

Tags: vietnam retail industry, Vietnam retail market, Vietnam supermarkets