In recent days, due to the influence of stormy weather, although the operating hours were extended from 6pm the previous night to 6am the next morning, the business atmosphere on Can Tho's night streets such as Ho Xang Thoi food street and Nguyen Trai fashion street is still quite quiet.
Since the rainy season began, the business of Mr. Kim - the owner of a fashion store on Nguyen Trai Street (Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City) - has decreased by 20 - 30%. Meanwhile, the rent, electricity, water, and staff are still paid monthly, causing the store to suffer a capital deficit.
“On rainy days, this street is deserted, the cars parked outside the store are mostly employees’. Clothing sales are slow, some days only 2-3 products are sold, the rest of the time is spent on the phone,” Kim shared.
Running a food service business at the Xang Thoi Lake food street (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city), Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang said that although the operating hours were extended until the next morning, on rainy days, the later it got, the more deserted the street became, with only a few customers passing by.
“The day I finished preparing everything, it rained, so I only sold to a few customers at the shop all night, the rest were online orders. But the number of customers and profits from online sales were only 7% of those from in-store sales due to other service costs,” said Mr. Hoang.
According to Mr. Kim, extending the opening hours until the next morning has created many favorable conditions for the entertainment of residents, tourists and business owners. However, with the current weather, Mr. Kim chooses to close early on rainy days instead of sitting around waiting for customers.
“If the weather is nice, I will open the shop to welcome customers until late at night. On rainy days, people and tourists are afraid to go out, so I close the shop around 8-9pm to focus on livestreaming products and closing online orders for customers,” said Mr. Kim.
Meanwhile, in addition to wishing for the stormy weather to pass soon so that business can recover, Mr. Hoang is maintaining online sales. Although the quantity and profit are not as good as selling directly at the store, it helps him have income to cover expenses such as premises, electricity, water, etc.
