Back in business: weekend crowds at Hanoi malls

Most of the stalls at Vincom shopping center on Ba Trieu Street have reopened. Only a few food and beverage stalls remained closed despite being allowed to sell takeout. At the entrance of each shopping center, customers had to fill online health declarations using QR codes and have their body temperature screened.

Customers queue up outside the store of fashion brand Zara. The store only allows five customers to enter at a time.

Quite a few customers also have to wait in line to enter this store at another entrance.

The store has discounted many items, attracting a large number of young consumers. Those who wanted to use the fitting room had to line up and await their turn.

Shoppers queue up at the checkout counter. Each customer waited for 5-10 minutes at the counter for their turn.

The cashier counter at a store of Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo at a shopping center on Pham Ngoc Thach Street. The payment counters have barriers between the cashier and the customer. The brand has reopened three outlets in Hanoi since September 29 while its stores in HCMC have remained closed since late May.

Several coffee and milk tea stalls at this shopping center also had customers line up to get a takeout drink.

Contrary to the bustling scene in the shopping centers, a few dozen meters away, the row of women's fashion stores on Chua Boc Street was empty Saturday afternoon.

After two months of semi-lockdowns, these stores are offering discounts of up to 50 percent on their summer items, preparing capital to import upcoming winter goods. However, with the current gloomy market situation, many stores are also worried about importing more goods.

On Chua Boc, Kim Ma and Cau Giay streets, many shops have not yet reopened due to lack of staff and slow offline sales. Some stores have terminated their rental contracts and landlords have not found new tenants.