|
Retail sales grow on shifting habits
Hundreds of customers queued at supermarket check-outs in Ha Noi on the weekend, a sight that is becoming increasingly familiar and a sign that the country’s shopping habits are changing, say retail experts.
A cashier at the Big C Supermarket says each cash register rakes in at least VND40 million (roughly US$2,350) on a Saturday and Sunday.
Pushing a trolley loaded with goods, Phuong Hoa, an employee at a Ha Noi-based import-export company, said she usually does her week’s shopping at supermarkets, rather than at traditional outdoor markets or grocery stores.
Souvenir seller Thuy Minh says she’s been shopping in supermarkets for almost a decade.
"Shopping at supermarkets is very attractive as the whole family can go together and each can choose goods based on his or her own needs or preferences," said Minh.
Retailers say consumers are increasingly choosing to shop in supermarkets over traditional markets – a trend they say that reflects the country’s growing prosperity.
Statistics released by the Viet Nam Retailers’ Association showed that the number of shoppers going to supermarkets and shopping centres rose from 9 per cent in 2005 to 14 per cent last year. The association forecasts that that figure will climb to 24 per cent in 2010.
In Ha Noi and HCM City, the number of shoppers going to supermarkets and shopping centres was 15 per cent in 2005, 24 per cent in 2007 and is expected to reach 37 per cent by 2010.
The Retail Association says shoppers who use supermarkets are generally more prosperous and have less time than those who go to traditional markets.
"Because of my busy job, I often do my shopping at supermarkets to save time and now it has become a habit," said Hoa. "I have not gone to markets for a long time."
Big C general director Pascal Billaud says increasing prosperity and a younger population are the main factors behind the shift in shopping habits.
Big C, which opened its first supermarket in Viet Nam 10 years ago, now operates seven shopping centres and supermarkets in Ha Noi, HCM City, Bien Hoa, Hai Phong and Da Nang, selling nearly 50,000 products, of which 95 per cent are produced in Viet Nam.
According to a study conducted by management consultants A T Kearney, Viet Nam has emerged as the most attractive emerging market destination for retail investment.
In the recently released annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), Viet Nam leapt three places this year to the number one spot, replacing India, which had topped the 30 surveyed markets for the last three years.
However, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade have raised concerns about local business competitiveness ahead of January 2009, when Viet Nam fully opens up to foreign firms under World Trade Organisation commitments.
Director of the Domestic Trade Policy Department Hoang Tho Xuan says the market will become more animated with much greater participation from foreign retail giants.
"The most important factors deciding the competitiveness of Vietnamese retailers is not only product quality but also their distribution methods and customer service," said Xuan.
According to the Viet Nam Retailers’ Association, the country now has 140 supermarkets and hypermarkets and 20 shopping centres, in addition to nearly 1 million sq. metres of new retail space being developed.
VNN
|
