Supermarkets compete to attract customers.

(Baonghean)The competition in the Nghe An retail market heated up with the arrival of Big C supermarket. And now, with the addition of Metro supermarket supplying wholesale goods on-site, the promotional and advertising campaigns seem even more intense…

Many advertising tactics

For a market that still relies heavily on traditional markets, like Vinh City in particular and Nghe An province in general, it's inevitable that supermarkets constantly offer promotions, announcements, and advertisements about new products and prices. During this time, whether at home or at work, I frequently receive flyers, advertisements, and text messages from supermarkets. At first, it seemed nice, but later it became a bit annoying, because I didn't need some items, but the supermarket kept offering them. For example, Metro supermarket texted: "Weekend promotion from September 29th to October 2nd: Grade 1 Da Lat cabbage: 11,445 VND/kg, char siu: 168,945 VND/kg, to decline..." That's not all; this supermarket even calls your mobile phone on holidays to announce the prices of each item, the promotional period, and ask why you haven't come to the supermarket to buy anything yet. The staff's voices are so sweet, you have to listen to the whole message they've memorized. You want to hang up, but you're afraid of being impolite…

Other supermarkets, like Big C, constantly send flyers to our homes, listing hundreds of items with eye-catching images and prices that look incredibly impressive and "cheap," making the kids constantly beg to go to the supermarket. Everything seems to be on sale, but who knows if the discounts are real? I remember my sister complaining the other day: "I spent hundreds of thousands of dong at the supermarket, and when I got home, I saw my shopping bag was full of things I didn't really need. It's all because I was so greedy. This item has a bowl attached, that one has a plastic basin attached – I bought them because of the promotion, only to realize I didn't really need them."

Did the price actually drop?

Promotions, discounts, loyalty cards – every supermarket offers them. Consumers wonder: why do prices at other supermarkets get cheaper every time a new one opens? Were they ripping off customers before? Why aren't raw material costs decreasing, while cooking oil prices, which didn't fall last month, are falling this month, and then again the next? Did the previous supermarket make a lot of profit, or is there something wrong with the product?

At the Intimex supermarket on 3-2 Street, I heard a woman complaining that she bought some braised eel with bananas, but when she opened it, she only found two rolls of eel the size of two spools of thread, the rest was just bananas, and it cost 54,000 VND. She felt embarrassed returning it, but taking it home was too expensive. It turned out that this supermarket had a 30% discount after 5 PM, so the prices before that time were ridiculously high. The roasted chicken and grilled sausages... sometimes they smelled bad when you ate them, as if the supermarket had used up almost-expired goods.

More and more people are going to supermarkets to stock up for long-term family purchases. However, supermarkets also need to understand that the current supply chain is widespread, reaching every street corner, readily available, and affordable. Therefore, sales strategies and the specific characteristics of each supermarket need to be considered. They shouldn't exploit customers by forcing them to go through the clothing or bucket section just to buy meat or bread. Customers should be able to quickly and conveniently purchase what they want and need, rather than being forced to wander around tirelessly with discounts. Supermarkets should be places consumers want to visit, even if only to browse and admire the cultural characteristics of the products.

Chau Lan