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When consumers tighten purse-strings
Though producers have been trying to slash prices and supermarts have been launching promotion programs, commodities remain in plenty and the sales have been going very slowly. Consumers talk about their needs.
Doan Nguyen Khang, DJ of Zone-FM program under VOV
I have never before seen shops slashing prices so sharply like nowadays, by 10-50%, sometimes even 70%. Vietnamese customers always make purchase decisions based on feelings. They will not spend money if they see other people hesitant to purchase products.
Price cuts and promotion programs aim to stimulate the purchasing power. However, in Vietnam the word ‘sale-off’ is always understood as a sale of low quality and liquidating commodities.
Do Thi Hoa in Binh Trung Dong Ward, District 2, HCM City
My spending for Tet 2009 will be just half of last year because I have to tighten my purse strings due to bad business. In previous years, I spent VND 8-10 million on Tet, but I’m going to spend only VND 5-6 million for this Tet. I have a lot of idle time, so I will try to keep watch over information to find what product items offer price discounts. The products which offer price reductions now are mainly clothes, footwear and handbags, not articles of daily necessity.
Tran Thi Thu Nga, Ward 2, District 8, HCM City
I have to tighten my purse strings this Tet. I will only purchase necessary commodities that have reasonable prices. Instead of purchasing import products, like in previous years, I will purchase domestic products. Domestically-made confectionary, butter and cheese will have ‘softer’ prices. I will limit purchasing of products for home decoration like fresh flowers and ornamental plants.
Gifts for Tet will also have to be cut. I will only purchase the items priced at less than VND 500,000/item.
Nguyen Thi Hoa from the HCM City Technique Pedagogical University
My family goes to Ben Tre province to enjoy Tet every year, and I always had to spend some VND 10 million on Tet gifts for relatives. However, I plan to spend only VND 6-7 million as our income has been reduced to just 75% of the last year’s level.
I am waiting for the commodity prices to drop further. In order to save money, I keep watching information about the sale promotion campaigns.
Le Thi Ngoc Yen from Anpha Company
No travel, no more home appliances, no misspending while shopping and no luxury Tet gifts. In previous years, I spent only several days to purchase commodities for Tet, but it will be different this year. I have to hunt for products that are offered with discount prices.
Dr Vu Dinh Anh, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Finance’s Market and Price Research Institute.
Tightening purse strings is the natural habit of people, both rich and poor, when they have difficulties. However, in Vietnam, the boom of sale promotion programs cannot stimulate the purchasing power because of many factors.
First, people had to spend much money before due to the high inflation.
Second, there exists a big gap between the demand and income of the majority of people.
Third, though price discounts are being offered to many items, these are the products laborers cannot afford. The price reductions of LCD TVs, cameras and refrigerators cannot stimulate demand from 70-80% of the population. They need to see rice, salt and food in markets become cheaper.
The product items in sale promotions only aim at high-income earners who expect price decreases. Meanwhile, the price decreases in the last few months still cannot cover the sharp price increase of 23% this year.
Tuoi tre
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