Resuding in Bau Cat area inTan Binh district in HCMC, Hai regularly sees small vans packing on large streets.

The vans display products of different kinds and fresh food, and there are sellers who look like officers at supermarkets or convenience stores.

“The products displayed there are not plentiful, but they look safe and clean,” Hai said.

The seller told Hai that the retail model has been operating for several months. Customers can also order food online through an app – 3FFOOD. While some supermarkets refuse to deliver fresh food, the service provider delivers products. 

Mobile vending vans that sell food early in the morning and groceries that provide vegetables and fruits have joined the retail market and become rivals of convenience stores.

 “The vans remind me of the modified vending vehicles selling vegetables, meat and fish which go through small alleys that local women wait for in every morning. However, the vans look more modern and the service seems to be better,” Hai said.

Thanh Mai, a housewife in HCMC, said there are so many choices now for those who want to buy food and products.

Mai said in the past, she usually went to a grocery near her house. The grocery sold vegetables and fruits. “The service was very good: TV was on all day. I could also buy vegetables to make a bowl of instant noodles at night. The grocery never closed the doors,” she said.

The good service xas why the grocery could exist amid the existence of many modern convenience stores Vinmart, Circle K and B’s mart nearby.

Now, after moving to an apartment, she even has more choices. There is a pavement stall in front of the apartment block which sells vegetables and fruits in the morning, and a Vinmart+ convenience store.

If she goes 500 meters further, she can reach Bach Hoa Xanh, and Family Mart next to it. Two traditional markets are just one kilometer away from there.

“I rarely go to traditional markets because convenience stores are everywhere. I can buy exactly the amount I want, and I don’t have to buy the entire packages of products,” she said.

“If I buy things at Bach Hoa Xanh, I can have food prep treated there,” she said. “Everything is very convenient. "

Also, Saigonese now can buy goods at ‘virtual stores’ of VinCommerce. There are large posters that simulate supermarket shelves hung at dormitories, office buildings, schools and bus stations. Each item has a QR code for buyers to scan with VinID app. Goods are delivered in 2-4 hours.

Kim Chi 

Local retailers can seize the lion's share

Vietnamese retail companies are in pole position to seize the lion’s share of the market, especially after some foreign businesses have left the country.  

Some foreign retailers leave Vietnam’s $180 billion market - Why?

Some foreign retail groups have left Vietnam recently. Is this because the retail market is no longer attractive?