Markets are deserted, supermarkets in Nghe An province have few customers.

Despite it being the weekend, Vinh Market – considered the region's trading center – was quite deserted. On the first floor of the main building, where many types of goods are concentrated: pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, household goods, clothing, shoes, etc., there were very few people passing by or making purchases.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh, a small business owner selling clothing on the first floor of the main hall of Vinh Market, said: “Although we have imported summer clothes to supply the market during the transitional season, the purchasing power is currently very weak, both retail and wholesale. In previous years, at this time, we had to increase staff to process orders and pack goods for wholesale customers in and outside the province, but now, because retailers everywhere are also experiencing slow sales, they are only ordering goods sparingly.”

According to Ms. Thanh, to adapt to people's tastes and shopping trends, in addition to selling directly at the market stall, she also makes full use of Zalo and Facebook channels. Staff are assigned to livestream, finalize orders, answer questions, and advise customers... However, at this time, revenue is still very low due to the overall decrease in purchasing power.

As a well-known fashion shoe retailer at Sen Market (Nam Dan), Nguyen Mai Huong used to earn around 3 million VND per day with 100 wholesale and retail orders. However, for the past three years, especially since the beginning of 2025, her revenue has decreased significantly. Many days, even after opening her stall from morning until late afternoon, only a few individual customers come to buy, and some days she doesn't sell a single pair. "Business is so slow! The stall is open, the goods are laid out, but some days not a single person asks to buy anything," Mai Huong sighed.

Not only fashion items, but other sectors are also experiencing sluggish sales. Markets such as Vinh Market, Hung Dung Market, Quan Lau Market, Vinh Train Station Market, Coi Market, etc., have been closed since the 15th day of the first lunar month, with some displaying signs indicating they are for sale or rent.

Walking around the markets, the most common sight is vendors sitting and browsing their phones or chatting in groups because business is slow. According to preliminary statistics, currently about 30% of stalls are closed at Quan Lau Market, Vinh Train Station Market, and Coi Market; at Vinh Market, about 20% are closed...

Despite selling food items, many small traders are facing a similar situation of low customer traffic. Ms. Le Thi Anh, a pork vendor at Coi Market (Vinh City), said: “Partly because of the high price of live pigs and meat, people are switching to buying other types of food. But mostly, because of the current economic difficulties and reduced income, people are tightening their spending, leading to decreased purchasing power.”

Normally, the period after Tet (Lunar New Year) usually sees low consumer demand, but I didn't expect it to be this slow this year. Previously, around 10 am, about 50 kg of pork would be sold out, but for almost two months now, we've had to extend the sale into the afternoon market, and even then, we sometimes still don't sell everything.”

Similarly, the number of customers visiting supermarkets and shopping malls has also decreased sharply at this time. At electronics supermarkets such as Dien May Xanh, Nguyen Kim, Hong Ha... (Vinh City), although it's the change of seasons, the demand for fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc., has dropped significantly; the number of customers shopping is almost negligible.

Even supermarkets selling essential goods like Bach Hoa Xanh, Go!Vinh, LotteMart... have seen a decrease in customers and sales. Ms. Nguyen Thuy, Operations Manager of a supermarket in Vinh City, said: "Although we knew that purchasing power would decrease during the off-season, this year the decrease is much sharper than in previous years."

Business owners believe that, as is customary, while purchasing power surges during Tet (Lunar New Year), the market tends to be sluggish in the first few months of the year due to decreased consumer demand. This decline in purchasing power makes business operations difficult.

However, this year, the sluggish sales continued until mid-March without improvement, leaving businesses and small traders struggling to find ways to cope. Accordingly, traders in markets are switching from selling directly to online sales, publicly displaying prices, and accepting lower profits to offer free delivery; supermarkets are launching many attractive promotional programs to stimulate shopping… hoping that in the coming time, purchasing power will rebound and the market will soon stabilize, facilitating business operations.