HCMC supermarkets roll out promotions amid rising prices

Supermarkets in HCMC are offering double-digit discounts as food and gasoline prices surge. Central Retail is offering discounts of up to 50 percent on 390 products before 10 a.m. from Monday to Thursday every week. The list of products includes pork, vegetables, and fast-moving consumer goods.

Co.opmart has announced a cut in prices of 3,000 essential goods until the end of this month. Another promotion is scheduled for next month, a spokesperson said. An MM Mega Market store in Go Vap District has cut the prices of beef by 5 percent, fruits by up to 30 percent, and clothes by 50 percent. Big C, Top Market, and Saigon Co.op are selling beef, chicken wings, and fruits at 10-30 percent discounts.

Cooking ingredients like oil, chili sauce, and sugar are priced 15-50 percent lower than before. Retail industry insiders say the discounts are being offered as consumers are tightening their purse strings amid a surge in prices. Gasoline prices are up 28 percent since the end of December to a record high of VND29,820 ($1.30) per liter.

The prices of eight of the nine main consumer products have risen sharply, with seven of them seeing double-digit increases. 50 percent of them have been impacted by food price increases and 40 percent by the increase in gasoline prices.

This has caused many people to cut spending. Hoa of Go Vap District used to go to the supermarket once a week, but now she only goes twice a month or just once.

“Prices of everything have risen so I buy in bulk to reduce expenses”.

Oanh of Tan Binh District recently bought dry products and spices for the next three months in the hope of avoiding further price rises. Though consumers expect further discounts, retail chains say this is unlikely. An executive at a supermarket chain in HCMC, who asked not be named, said the company is also under pressure due to the rising costs, and it has offered the best discounts it could.