Supermarkets in Hanoi saw a sharp decline in the sale of non-food products in the first six months of this year as customers increasingly focused on daily necessities.
People prioritise staples amid inflation
Chairman of the Hanoi Supermarkets Association Vu Vinh Phu said during the period the number of customers to the local supermarkets dropped by half. Food and foodstuff products for their daily meals account for up to 80% of sales and the value of each basket reduced by 20%.
Promotional programmes for other products have proved unattractive.
A survey by the General Department of Statistics in 2010 showed that people have to spend up to 52.9% of their income for daily meals, revealing declining spending power and earnings.
Duong Thi Quynh Trang, PR Director of Big C supermarket chain said people have focused on buying staples such as rice, meat, eggs and sugar, while the sales of other products such as clothes, TVs and fridges have declined.
In the commodity basket of 10 groups for CPI calculation, food and restaurant services often account for up to 42.85 percent of a consumer’s shopping.
According to a survey on consumer demand among shoppers in HCM City conducted by Sai Gon Tiep Thi Newspaper in 2011, food accounted for 34.3% of their total income. Another 30% of the income was used for investment and savings, with the remaining 30% for rent or housing costs, healthcare, entertainment and shopping.
Economist Tran Hoang Ngan said, lower economic growth and high inflation has caused more difficulties for people. There had also be an increase in people falling back into poverty.
Vietnam’s June CPI is estimated to have decreased 0.26% against May and December 2011. However, it remains high if compared to June 2011.
