Market built with floors, spacious but few customers
After being spaciously built into 2 floors, some famous and bustling markets in Da Nang City such as Phuoc My market, An Hai Dong... have all become deserted.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan (character's name has been changed, a trader at An Hai Dong market) - said that whether it is early morning or early afternoon, many traders on the 2nd floor sit and surf their phones, play games and chat with each other to kill time. Even a series of stalls here were closed, making the atmosphere even sadder.
According to Ms. Ngan, the design of the market is not reasonable, since its construction, many people have not had the habit of going to the second floor to shop, causing the market to be increasingly deserted, and traders are paying their stalls continuously.
Despite the methodical and large-scale investment in construction, most traders and customers at An Hai Dong market believe that the conversion and design of the market has not closely followed the consumption habits of the people.
Ms. Nguyen Thi An (56 years old, a resident living near Phuoc My market) informed that although the market was built on 2 floors, only the first floor was bustlingly operated. Specifically, on the 2nd floor, the number of kiosks and stalls closed and stopped operating accounted for 70%.
Not only happening in Da Nang, this situation has also been common in markets in Hanoi in recent years.
Located in a bustling neighborhood, Hang Da market and Mo market (Hanoi) are also in a state of stagnation, with traders closing stalls when fish, meat, vegetable stalls... are rearranged and planned in the basement, so they are not interested or noticed by people.
Online sales volumes explode
In addition to unreasonable infrastructure, according to Lao Dong reporter's research, most traders in markets in Hanoi and Da Nang City believe that shopping at traditional markets that have been gloomy in recent years is due to the " whirlwind" of online shopping.
The convenience of online sales platforms with new designs with great deals such as discount codes, free shipping... are the reasons to attract consumers.
The revenue report of e-commerce platforms in the first half of 2025 of YouNet ECI, a member company specializing in analyzing e-commerce market data, shows that the market grew 23% over the same period and the average revenue of e-commerce shops also increased by 27.6%.
According to data from the report, the total transaction value (GMV) of 4 platforms such as Shopee, TikTok Shop, Lazada, Tiki reached a record of 222.1 trillion VND.
TikTok Shop alone in the first half of 2025 recorded a growth in total transaction value (GMV) of up to 148% over the same period, higher than TikTok Shop's 99% in the whole year of 2024.
Mr. Nguyen The Diep - a real estate expert - commented that recently, many new commercial centers and modern shophouses have been springing up in provinces and cities with reasonable rental prices, creating competition in the market.
Experts say that traditional domestic markets and shopping centers need to have a plan to upgrade and renovate to keep up with trends and bring new experiences to people under the pressure of digital transformation and online shopping.
