Purchasing power increases, people spend heavily
In recent months, the retail market in Ho Chi Minh City has recorded clear signs of recovery. A vibrant shopping atmosphere appears at supermarkets, convenience stores and shopping centers, especially on weekends.
Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong - residing in Thoi An ward, said that recently her family often takes advantage of shopping during promotions to save living expenses: "Many essential items are significantly discounted. Especially fresh food products and household items often have good offers and ensure food safety.
Similarly, Mr. Le Quoc Trung - residing in Binh Hung commune, said that continuous discount programs, lasting many days, help consumers be more proactive in shopping plans. Supermarkets not only directly discount but also have additional points accumulation and combo purchase incentives, so they are quite attractive.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thang - Deputy General Director of Saigon Co. op, said that purchasing power in this system has recorded double-digit growth in recent months. In which, the group of essential consumer goods, fresh food, household goods and household products continue to account for a large proportion of revenue.
Promoting trade promotion and long-term demand stimulus
In parallel with the recovery of the retail market, Ho Chi Minh City is accelerating the implementation of many trade promotion and consumer stimulus solutions on a larger scale than in previous years.
Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade - said that the industry and trade sector is focusing on promoting trade promotion activities to contribute to the implementation of the 2026 growth target according to the city's general orientation.
According to Mr. Phuong, the important foundation for Ho Chi Minh City to implement stimulus programs is the City People's Council's resolution on specific policies in trade promotion. Thanks to that, the city has more flexible and open mechanisms to support businesses to expand markets and promote domestic consumption.
Right at the beginning of 2026, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a trade promotion plan with 74 major programs, with a total budget of more than 200 billion VND, not to mention many other support activities. This is considered one of the largest scale trade promotion programs ever in the city.
According to the plan, many familiar activities such as Supply and Demand Connection, Focused Promotions or Shopping Season will continue to be expanded in organizational scale. Notably, the Industry and Trade sector is building a long-term strategy for the Focused Promotion program for the 2026-2030 period instead of implementing it annually as before.
The goal of this plan is to create a chain of continuous demand stimulus activities, with links between large distribution systems, manufacturing enterprises and related service industries. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City will link shopping programs with tourism and cultural activities to attract tourists to the city to spend more.
