In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, people's online shopping demand increases sharply. From dried food, gifts, household appliances to clothes, goods are ordered continuously through e-commerce platforms and delivery applications. However, actual records show that the force of shippers is gradually decreasing as many people choose to return to their hometowns for Tet early, making the delivery of goods in some areas difficult.
In the Ecohome 3 apartment area, Hanoi, Mr. Nguyen Trung Kien - a shipper waiting for orders - said that normally this area always has 5 to 7 shippers on duty to receive and deliver goods. However, from the full moon of December to now, the number of shippers has decreased significantly, only about 2 to 3 people.
According to Mr. Kien, the reason is not due to the small number of orders. On the contrary, the closer to Lunar New Year, the more goods need to be delivered. However, for many people, shippers are just seasonal jobs, without long-term constraints. "Just turn off the application and quit. Many brothers take advantage of going home early to prepare for Tet with their families," Mr. Kien shared.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Nong Tuan Minh, another shipper, said that during Tet days, the freight rate for delivering goods or driving technology motorbike taxis is usually higher than usual, so there is still a part of shippers willing to stay to earn extra income. However, for people from far away areas such as Nghe An, Ha Tinh..., traveling takes a lot of time, so they choose to return to their hometowns early, accepting to quit their jobs before Tet.
Before the Lunar New Year, express delivery businesses also proactively announced the operating schedule for the 2026 Lunar New Year so that people and shop owners can arrange to send goods.
Viettel Post said that in order to meet the increased delivery demand during the Lunar New Year 2026, this enterprise will have a 6-day Tet holiday, from February 15, 2026 to the end of February 20, 2026 (ie from December 28 to the end of January 4 of the lunar calendar). Viettel Post will resume normal operations from February 21, 2026 (the 5th day of Tet). Orders received during the Tet holiday period will begin to be processed from 0:00 on February 23, 2026. Notably, from February 9, 2026 to the end of February 20, 2026, Viettel Post will not accept sending many types of goods such as easily damaged food, fruits, ornamental plants, live animals or goods of large size and weight.
Similarly, Giao Hang Nhanh recommends that customers make orders before February 8, 2026 to ensure that goods are delivered before the Tet holiday. According to the notice, on February 15, 2026 (December 28th of the lunar calendar), Giao Hang Nhanh's post offices will only work until 4:00 PM. From February 16, 2026 to February 19, 2026 (ie from the 29th of Tet to the 3rd of Tet), this unit temporarily suspends all services nationwide and resumes operations from February 20, 2026.
Meanwhile, Shopee has also updated the operating schedule of transportation units for the Lunar New Year 2026. Accordingly, SPX Express will stop receiving and delivering goods from February 16, 2026 (December 29th of the lunar calendar) to February 20, 2026 (December 4th of the lunar calendar), and resume operations from February 21, 2026 (December 5th of the lunar calendar).
Reality shows that near the Lunar New Year is a time when online shopping demand increases, but it is also the time when the delivery market is subject to many fluctuations due to the specific nature of seasonal labor. Understanding the Tet holiday schedule of transportation companies and proactively ordering early is considered a necessary solution to avoid delays and interruptions in delivery in the days leading up to Tet.
