Supermarkets crowded ahead of Tet
Supermarkets crowded ahead of Tet
Sales at many supermarkets have soared by up to 30% as the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, is just over a week away. In particular, the demand for beef and chicken has surged because of the rising pork price, triggered by African swine fever.
To meet the surging demand of consumers during Tet, many supermarkets will extend their opening hours to 11 p.m. on some days.
Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op) noted that the consumption of confectionery and fresh products, including seafood and meat, for the upcoming Tet holiday has picked up by 10%-30% against the same period last year.
Except for pork, the prices of beef, chicken and seafood have remained the same compared with last year, encouraging customers to increase their purchases of these fresh products as an alternative to pork, as they did for the previous holiday.
The consumption of beer and beverages has risen by 10%-15% year-on-year as customers buy these products to stock up for the long holiday and give to their friends and relatives.
Saigon Co.op retail chains, including Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food, Co. opSmile, Cheers and Sense City, will be open for an additional four hours each day to serve customers during the holiday.
Do Quoc Huy, director of marketing at Saigon Co.op, noted that during the week prior to Tet, Saigon Co.op will run a promotional program to offer discounts on pork, pork products, chicken, vegetables, fruit and so on.
Co.opmart, Co.opXtra, Co.op Food and Co.op Smile supermarkets are selling some 12,000 Tet gift baskets per day during the Tet season, up 20% year-on-year, Huy said.
The gift baskets containing fruit jams, cashews, sausage, a tea box and soft drinks are sold at prices ranging from VND300,000 to VND600,000 each and are very popular, he added.
At Bach Hoa Xanh grocery stores, sales of products for the Tet holiday have picked up by over 10%.
A representative of Bach Hoa Xanh noted that the store chain started preparing large volumes of items a few months ago. It has boosted supply of essential goods by 30% versus last Tet.
Bach Hoa Xanh has bought fresh products from neighboring provinces and imported a large amount of pork from the United States, Canada, Brazil and Poland to meet the rising local demand.
