Businesses and retailers believe it is necessary to promote domestic consumption in the context of slow recovery of purchasing power - Photo: N.BINH
At a recent meeting between the Government Standing Committee and business representatives, Ms. Huynh Bich Ngoc, permanent vice president of Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group), proposed that the Government give vouchers (shopping coupons) to people for use within a certain period of time to stimulate consumption.
Shopping in moderation
The reason why many businesses support the proposal that the State should have a program to give vouchers to some people to buy essential goods is that it will help businesses consume goods faster, return capital, and maintain jobs for workers.
When workers have jobs and maintain their income, they will create new purchasing power... This creates a smooth cycle, creating vitality for all businesses and the economy.
Domestic businesses are also "impatient" when some countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore... all have cash support programs for consumers or provide shopping vouchers, and hope that Vietnam cannot stay out.
Meanwhile, how is the purchasing power now? The sales director of the convenience store chain said that the system of more than hundreds of stores has never experienced such a decline in purchasing power as it does now. The total sales of the system for the first time fell below 10 billion VND/day, less than 20 million VND/store. For a point of sale that is open 24/7, this revenue is very... miserable.
"We use technology to understand shopping habits, many items are discounted to the maximum, but purchasing power still cannot be increased," he said.
The situation at supermarkets and shopping malls is not any better. To maintain purchasing power, supermarkets have to simultaneously promote. At Co.opmart, Satra... systems since the beginning of the year, retailers have continuously launched promotional programs, focusing on reducing prices on essential goods, vegetables, fruits, and agricultural products.
Mr. Furusawa Yasuyuki, General Director of AEON Vietnam, admitted that although business in the first eight months of 2024 has grown, he cannot be optimistic. Prices of some essential goods tend to increase, consumers tighten spending on non-essential goods...
Mr. Hoang, residing in Thu Duc City (HCMC), commented that the State controls prices well, but the problem is that people's income is decreasing, like his family's, it has decreased by 20%, so they have to cut spending.
People in difficulty and businesses benefit together
When the government gives vouchers to certain people to shop, those people themselves benefit and businesses also benefit by selling goods and maintaining production.
Mr. Dinh Quang Khoi, marketing director of MM Mega Market supermarket system, commented that giving shopping vouchers will further promote the circulation of goods, which are real "consumption stimulus" policies.
"In terms of both the foundation and the implementation method, Ho Chi Minh City is fully qualified to implement a shopping stimulus program by issuing vouchers. We can even think about socialization, not necessarily support from the Government," Mr. Khoi added.
Experience from the mobile sales program recently organized by the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City shows that districts that distribute vouchers to people in difficult circumstances to go shopping have higher sales.
Accordingly, based on the local management list, the district issued vouchers to people to shop at the mobile market and most consumers spent extra money to buy essential consumer goods sold at a discount by businesses.
The need for consumption and shopping is always there. If we know how to do it, we will successfully stimulate purchasing power, and then businesses will also benefit because they can promote the flow of goods.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently drafting a project to "Stimulate domestic consumption and promote domestic trade", which focuses on issuing shopping vouchers to stimulate purchasing power. This idea has attracted the attention of retailers as they expect that issuing vouchers to workers can create a positive effect.
Satra representatives said they also have high expectations for a breakthrough stimulus program at the end of the year, because they have used "every possible" promotional and discount measures in the past. Retailers believe that issuing vouchers, if implemented reasonably and transparently, will not only help clear inventory but also create more jobs and income for workers, thereby creating a positive cycle for the economy. In the long term, these policies will contribute to increasing consumer and business confidence.
Dr. Tran Quoc Hung, CEO of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Washington DC (USA), said that the situation of surplus goods due to supply exceeding demand is not only happening in Vietnam but also in some countries in the region. Therefore, stimulating consumption is definitely a must.
"In the context of Vietnam's economy recovering more slowly than expected, effective consumer stimulus policies to support the circulation of goods and services, while creating a surplus to contribute to the state budget, need to be implemented promptly. The state needs to support businesses in logistics and organize low-cost production so that they can bring goods to consumers quickly and at good prices, like how China is supporting its own goods," Dr. Hung added.
Worry most about weak purchasing power
According to a recent report by UOB Bank, retail sales in the third quarter of 2024 are expected to slow down, falling to 7.6% year-on-year in September, down from 7.9% in August and averaging 8.7% throughout 2024. This is much lower than the 10.4% growth rate in 2023, showing that consumer sentiment has become more cautious amid global economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, HSBC experts commented that retail growth is still lower than the pre-pandemic trend. It is encouraging that the Government has taken many measures to support a series of domestic economic sectors, thereby creating expectations that confidence will be restored over time.
According to a NielsenIQ report, price is becoming the top concern of Vietnamese consumers when shopping. In addition, Vietnamese people also tend to cut spending on non-essential items and switch to cooking at home more. This is even more evident in the fact that the value of customers' shopping baskets at supermarkets has also decreased by at least 5 - 10% compared to before.
Despite strong GDP growth, urban areas are experiencing a decline in home consumption of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), while rural areas are also showing signs of slowing growth since the beginning of the year.
The gap between GDP and FMCG at-home spending suggests that people’s purchasing power is tightening. Kantar World Panel’s report said that FMCG at-home spending will remain challenging in the third quarter of 2024. Consumers are prioritizing essentials such as FMCG at home, while in better economic times, spending will be prioritized on discretionary categories such as dining out and outdoor entertainment.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tang-voucher-mua-sam-mui-ten-trung-2-dich-20241010232149591.htm
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