Queuing for half an hour to pay at the supermarket during the peak shopping season of Tet

With nearly a week to go until Lunar New Year, people's shopping needs have increased dramatically. At 5 p.m. on February 3, the entrance of a shopping mall in Cau Giay District (Hanoi) was crowded with customers. Many people were jostling each other through the narrow aisles with shopping carts loaded with belongings. In this area, the loudspeaker continuously announced that the supermarket was out of shopping carts and asked customers to take their carts from the yard.

The supermarket’s car parking area is packed. The motorbike and bicycle parking areas are also about to be overloaded on both floors. This is the last weekend before the new year of the Dragon, so many families are taking advantage of the opportunity to go shopping.

Hanh Trang said she didn't need too many items but it still took her nearly 2 hours to shop and wait to pay because it was too crowded.

Inside the shopping area, people are crowded. The candy counter attracts many female customers. Many types of candy and cakes are popular, sold by weight. The prices of these products range from 60,000 - 200,000 VND/kg.

The checkout area had a long line. The checkout counters were all lit up and the staff were working non-stop.

Because it was so crowded, many customers were tired of waiting for their turn to pay.

Mr. Ngo Quang Thang (living in Dong Da district) said that every year he and his wife come here to buy gifts for Tet. "Today, my wife and I each have a cart. Because my cart was full, I went out to reserve a spot to pay, my wife still chose a few more items. Today's shopping took nearly 3 hours. As for paying, I waited for 30 minutes but it was not my turn yet," Mr. Thang said.

Like Mr. Thang, many men take advantage of the day off to take their relatives shopping for Tet gifts.

The baskets are gradually filling up. The square-boxed cakes with elegant paper bags on the outside, priced at an average of 150,000 - 250,000 VND, are a popular choice among customers.

A customer paid a bill of nearly 3 million VND, mostly for food and candy for Tet. She said she would definitely have to go shopping again because there were still many things missing.