Traditional markets "transform" in modern life

In the flow of Vietnamese economy and culture, traditional markets have always held a special role and position. However, in the era of digitalization and global integration, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce has developed strongly, becoming a consumption trend for everyone, every household, while traditional markets have gradually lost their position. Faced with the requirements and challenges, traditional markets are making efforts to transform from management mechanisms, organizational structures to business forms and consumer experiences.

Stalls and kiosks at Quang Thang market are all equipped with QR codes.

Tay Thanh Market (Hac Thanh Ward) was once bustling and bustling with activity, but now it is increasingly deserted. Sometimes, traders cannot sell any products from morning to afternoon. Faced with this situation, some traders in Tay Thanh Market have boldly innovated, quickly approached trends, kept up with the market, made efforts to learn and boldly invested, joined the online sales community, and did business on e-commerce platforms.

Ms. Le Thi Loan (47 years old), owner of a handbag and wallet stall at Tay Thanh market, has proactively sold goods on social networking and e-commerce platforms. Ms. Loan confided: "I started practicing selling on tiktok and facebook platforms since 2024. As a long-time traditional seller, I am also old, so at first when approaching, everything was quite difficult."

The novelty and excitement of online sales and the determination to "do it, do it well", Ms. Loan strives to learn every day. She does not hesitate to invest money and time to attend online sales courses. A room in her family was renovated and set up as a livestream room; her phone is full of pictures, videos , and product photos... She also gradually practiced her confident demeanor and how to interact with customers in a charming and attractive way.

Even those seemingly small things are not easy for a beginner like her. Ms. Loan said: “Selling online is not as easy as many people think. To have an order successfully delivered to the customer, you have to go through many stages, spend a lot of effort, many types of costs... If you are not really determined and willing to learn, people will easily give up.”

After much effort, from livestreams with only a few people, a few dozen viewers, Ms. Loan now owns a tiktok account with more than 20 thousand followers. After more than 1 year of diligently "building the channel", the most bustling live session Ms. Loan "closed" about a few dozen orders.

"That number is still very modest, but I feel happy because I dared to surpass myself to step into a new field, opening up new opportunities," said Ms. Loan.

Ms. Le Thi Lai (71 years old), who sells vegetables and tubers at Hom Sung market (Hoang Hoa commune) is still loyal to the traditional selling method. However, her vegetable and tubers stall is always crowded with customers. When asked about her secret, she happily said: "I'm old, I don't understand anything about technology or money transfers. But as always, I always maintain the view that selling must come from the heart. When selling wholesale at the village market, customers are all relatives, acquaintances, neighbors, so we cannot ignore profits, it would be a sin."

Thinking so, right from the time of finding a source to import goods, Ms. Lai also carefully selected, researched, and accepted to buy at a slightly higher price to get quality goods. Vegetables and tubers are imported daily to ensure freshness and deliciousness, not to be greedy for cheapness and import haphazardly. She is not too fussy about selling goods, often generously picking up for customers a few stalks of onions, sometimes a few sprigs of Vietnamese coriander... It is her closeness and friendliness that has sown trust and love in the hearts of customers, becoming a friendly invitation for customers to remember to come back to buy goods the next time.

Or like how Ms. Duong Thi Xinh (63 years old), the owner of a fish stall at Quang Thang market (Dong Quang ward), is always enthusiastic in helping customers clean and deliver to their homes when they need it. Sometimes, when the delivery location is a few kilometers away from the market, customers trust her to "close the order" over the phone and she is ready to serve, free delivery. Like many other stalls and kiosks in Quang Thang market, Ms. Xinh's stall has been equipped with QR codes for customers' convenience in paying. While scaling fish for customers, she said: "When selling, we follow the times, and when customers come, we do the same. It's a little busier, but as long as we can sell, we are happy." It's that simple, but those actions also partly reflect the positive, proactive moves to adapt to the times, to changes in shopping and consumption habits of older traders in traditional markets.

In the effort to "transform" traditional markets, in addition to the determination and agility of traders, the investment of enterprises and the accompaniment and support of management agencies play an important role, especially in the fields of planning, infrastructure, digital transformation, management model transformation, operating methods, food safety and hygiene, environmental sanitation, communication culture, behavior...

Based on the assigned functions and tasks, the Department of Industry and Trade has actively advised the Provincial People's Committee in the fields of planning and developing the market system in the area; encouraging socialized market investment, attracting the participation of enterprises and cooperatives in management, exploitation and development of market infrastructure. Many markets in the province have been significantly improved with solid/semi-solid market halls, spacious kiosks, ensuring criteria and regulations on environmental hygiene, food safety, fire prevention and fighting, security and order. Along with that, many solutions have been implemented synchronously and effectively to improve the business environment in the market; applying technology in market management and operation such as deploying a non-cash payment system, digitizing business information; supporting small traders to improve competitiveness, adapt to new consumption trends...

Article and photos: Thao Linh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/cho-truyen-thong-chuyen-minh-trong-nhip-song-hien-dai-270309.htm