AI changes the game for Tet 2026

Instead of planning in the traditional way, many companies and retailers rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze consumer trends, identify "hot" products, forecast purchasing power and optimize operating costs.

Virtual KOLs are increasingly natural, expressive, and interactive like real people - Photo: KIDO

"In the past, every time Tet came, we just looked back at what we sold last year and then did the same this year. Now it's different, two months in advance, we started preparing for Tet, using AI to collect data on customers' search trends, see which product groups they are interested in, which decoration styles are most searched for to plan appropriate import of goods," said Mr. Lam Phuong Toan, owner of Hana fresh flower shop on Pham Ngu Lao street (old Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City).

"Taking the pulse" of the market with AI data

According to Mr. Lam Phuong Toan, the application of AI has completely changed the way he prepares goods for the 2026 Tet season. "Instead of relying on personal experience or feelings to predict which items will sell well like before, AI now helps to accurately identify potential product groups, avoiding the "spreading out" situation like before," said Mr. Toan.

Not only does it stop at identifying “hot” products, according to Mr. Toan, AI also analyzes buyer behavior to find the customer group that actually generates revenue. For example, on October 20, although it was a day for women, women were the most active shopping group, mainly buying gifts for their mothers, friends, or for themselves.

"Thanks to data from AI, we can adjust the design, price and gift to be affordable and suitable for actual needs, instead of focusing on high-end products for men like before," he said, affirming that AI also helps business owners "look deeply into the data" instead of judging by emotions.

With just one command, the system can suggest potential product groups, along with implementation instructions, promotional plans, and forecast purchasing power by region. "Thanks to that, preparing goods for peak seasons such as the upcoming Lunar New Year becomes faster and more scientifically based," said Mr. Toan.

For example, with the flower and gift product group, AI recorded the highest search volume in districts 3, 5, and Go Vap (old). Instead of mass advertising, stores only need to focus their budget on these "hot spots", both saving costs and optimizing sales efficiency.

"Previously, to prepare for Tet, we needed 2-3 marketing staff to work for more than a month. Now most of this process has been automated, from data synthesis to advertising," said Mr. Toan. Thanks to the ability to accurately predict customer demand, importing goods is also more realistic, helping to avoid inventory or local shortages.

It's not just consumers who are changing, many suppliers say even large partner businesses are looking for suppliers through AI platforms.

Therefore, to prepare for this year's Tet season, many suppliers have invested early in "digital profiles", from catalogs, images, product descriptions to business data, to standardize and post on e-commerce platforms, Google and social networks.

"AI only prioritizes suggesting suppliers with transparent and reliable information. Therefore, "winning the hearts of AI" is now as important as "winning the hearts of customers". Because if you win the hearts of customers, at most only a few people will know about you, but if you win the hearts of AI, you can be recognized by the whole world ," Mr. Toan jokingly compared.

Virtual people "go live" to sell Tet goods

Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Quoc Bao, Deputy General Director of KIDO Group, said that the company has applied AI extensively in most marketing activities, from producing TVC advertisements, designing social media posts to creating videos with the appearance of virtual celebrities (KOL).

During the recent Mid-Autumn Festival, KIDO tested 24/7 livestreaming using AI virtual humans and recorded positive results. "Previously, a 45-second advertising video could cost up to 2.5 billion VND, but when using AI, the cost is only about 20%," said Mr. Bao.

Not only cutting costs, using virtual KOLs also helps businesses save up to 70% of advertising costs and dramatically increase order conversion rates thanks to the ability to operate continuously, without time limits, without fatigue. Entering the 2026 Lunar New Year season, Mr. Bao said that this business continues to consider AI as a key strategy, not only in marketing but also to predict the market and optimize operating costs.

"AI is the 'key' to help us solve the two biggest challenges: sales and marketing costs, which account for a high proportion in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. When AI is deeply involved in marketing activities, costs are sharply reduced while order conversion rates increase significantly. "The recent Mid-Autumn Festival is a clear proof of this," said Mr. Bao.

According to the plan, in October, this enterprise will complete a Tet promotional film using AI technology for Tuong An oil products, and at the same time deploy about 150 online sales avatars, equivalent to 150 online employees working in parallel on digital platforms. It is expected that 10,000 promotional videos will be produced and released throughout the Tet season this year.

The company is also building a network of 300 virtual avatars, which act as a live-streaming sales team and daily content producer. "This will be a 'digital resource' to serve the promotional campaign throughout the Tet season," said Mr. Bao, adding that AI has participated in more than 50% of daily activities, helping the company save about 30% of operating costs and improve order processing efficiency.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Anh, Sales Director of the Southern branch of Huu Nghi Food Joint Stock Company, also said that this enterprise has also applied automation in the entire production line, and initially integrated AI technology to support data analysis and optimize marketing processes.

"Marketing departments have started using AI as a tool to support ideas and design advertising campaigns. We are also planning to expand the application to accounting and data management departments," Mr. Anh said, emphasizing that technology is just a support tool. AI helps to make things faster and more accurate, but the core is still good, stable products that bring trust to consumers.

Ensuring supply and stabilizing prices

Ms. Pham Hong Tham, Director of Ba Mien Agricultural Products Company, said that this year's purchasing power may decrease by about 30% compared to the same period last year, so the company has stockpiled goods early to serve Tet and signed long-term contracts with producers to ensure a stable supply and avoid price fluctuations during peak periods.

In addition to traditional product lines, the company also introduces many compact products, suitable as gifts, targeting young customers and households, contributing to stimulating domestic consumption during Tet. A representative of Huu Nghi Food Company said that this company focuses its strategy on quality and differentiation in each product line, while promoting the popular segment with prices ranging from 65,000 - 80,000 VND/product, targeting the mass customer group.

In addition, the high-end gift and tin box segment is still maintained, with an average price of 100,000 - 140,000 VND/box. "Every year, we flexibly adjust according to the market but do not compromise on quality. Although raw material prices and exchange rates fluctuate, we still try to keep reasonable prices so that customers are not "shocked" when buying Tet gifts," said this representative.

Businesses promote consumption of Vietnamese goods and green products

Before the peak Tet shopping season, retail and food production businesses have proactively planned early, focusing on promoting Vietnamese goods, encouraging green consumption, and choosing domestic products.

AI is completely changing the way businesses approach consumers during Tet - Photo: QUANG DINH

Mr. Tran Le Nguyen Khang, Deputy Head of SATRA Retail System Management Board, said that in the context of the market facing many difficulties, SATRA not only focuses on stabilizing prices but also promotes environmentally friendly products, participating in the "Green Responsibility" program launched by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Products with quality certification and clear origin will be displayed prominently in the supermarket system, helping consumers feel secure when shopping. In addition, SATRA introduces many private label products in its ecosystem, along with deep promotions and more preferential pricing policies. "We work closely with partners to offer products with the best prices, contributing to sharing the spending pressure with people during Tet," Mr. Khang added.

KIDO representative also said that they have joined the online distribution channel "I Love Vietnamese Goods", a platform recently launched on the Shopee e-commerce platform in cooperation with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade. The program introduces genuine, high-quality Vietnamese products with many attractive incentives for consumers.

"Any product sold on the channel is clearly verified for origin and quality," he emphasized.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ai-thay-doi-cuoc-choi-tet-2026-20251028232904315.htm