Stimulating consumption: "Soft lever" to boost economic growth by the end of 2025

VTV.vn - Domestic consumption has recovered and become a driving force for growth, but to create a sustainable boost, coordination between management agencies, businesses and people is needed.

Domestic consumption returns to its "locomotive" role

Domestic consumption continues to show resilience in 2025. Total retail sales of goods and service revenue in the first 10 months increased by about 9.3%, reaching nearly 5.8 million billion VND, higher than the growth rate of the same period in many years. In major economic centers, the growth rate is high, such as Ho Chi Minh City increased by 14.5%, Hanoi increased by 12.7%, Da Nang increased by 23.6%...

According to Dr. Nguyen Bich Lam, former Director General of the General Statistics Office (formerly), this trend shows that consumer confidence has recovered, especially in essential goods and food and tourism services. "When investment and export have not really broken through, domestic consumption is playing the role of 'support' for the economy," he assessed.

It can be seen that consumption, together with investment and exports, forms the three pillars of growth. However, in the context of cautious private investment flows and volatile global supply chains, the "consumption vehicle" is taking on a more prominent role in the second half of the year.

This period is the "golden" time for businesses to expand their customer base.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade , stimulating consumption is not only seasonal but has become a strategic solution to achieve the GDP growth target in 2025. Therefore, from now until the end of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and many localities have and will continue to organize a series of large-scale events, typically the 2025 Autumn Fair, national concentrated promotion month programs, Supply - Demand Connection Week, etc.

According to Mr. Tran Huu Linh, Director of the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development (Ministry of Industry and Trade), this year's focus is to cover stimulus to non-urban areas, traditional markets and e-commerce, creating a "comprehensive wave of consumption" instead of just focusing on big cities.

Notably, in parallel, consumer credit support packages, promoting non-cash payments, and expanding access to financial services, especially in rural areas, are also being implemented to increase sustainable purchasing power.

The "golden" time for businesses to expand their customer base

Retail, service and F&B businesses consider this period as a "golden" time to expand their customer base. Central Retail Group - owner of GO!, Tops Market, Big C systems, said it has launched more than 3,000 items with deep discounts of up to 50%. Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Van, Communications Director of Central Retail Vietnam, commented that Vietnamese consumers are looking for products with real value. Discount programs that are tailored to their needs, transparent and large-scale will help retail sales break through in the last quarter of the year.

In addition to direct discounts, businesses are investing heavily in online channels, livestream sales, fast delivery logistics and in-store experiences. Many manufacturing and retail businesses are also collaborating to create "family savings combos" to stimulate shopping by basket.

"In the current context, when consumers spend more but are more cautious, to create sustainable purchasing power, we must both reduce prices and improve service quality, shopping experience, and transparent promotions," Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Linh, Director of Nam Phong Company Limited, gave her opinion from the perspective of a retail business about the domestic market.

Ms. Linh added that consumer psychology is gradually shifting from saving to spending on investment for quality of life. However, consumer behavior has also changed significantly, consumers prioritize essential products, high value, good reliability. They also pay more attention to "real" promotions, avoiding formal discounts. In particular, consumers are willing to spend more when there is good after-sales service and a clear return policy. Notably, consumers are increasingly using online shopping and digital payments to find competitive prices. Ms. Minh Trang (Nghia Do, Hanoi) shared: "I don't buy because of discounts anymore. I buy because I find it beneficial, good quality and good service. If the business keeps its reputation, I will come back for a long time."

Consumer confidence has recovered, especially in essential goods, food and beverage services, and tourism.

Regarding this story, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang said that stimulating consumption is a "soft but effective lever" if implemented synchronously and focusedly. He emphasized three core requirements: promotions must be timely and close to demand instead of being deployed widely, causing market disturbance; expanding distribution channels from supermarkets, convenience stores to traditional markets, e-commerce and social networks; and at the same time, linking stimulus programs with social security support to reduce cost pressure for people. According to Mr. Lang, "stimulation must spread to every province, every district, every market, every e-commerce platform; when the coverage is large enough, consumption will become the driving force to pull the whole economy up".

Despite the positive developments in the consumer market, experts warn that there are still many barriers that need to be addressed promptly. A segment of low-income people still has limited spending ability, while the risk of "virtual discounts" can reduce confidence in the market. In addition, the gap in digital payment infrastructure, logistics between urban and rural areas as well as fluctuations in global raw material prices directly affect the supply of promotional goods, posing a significant challenge to the implementation of effective stimulus programs.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Quang Thang, an economist at the Academy of Finance, if promotional programs are not transparent and well controlled, they can be counterproductive, making consumers skeptical and even affecting the entire retail chain. Therefore, there needs to be a strict monitoring mechanism, covering shopping programs to rural areas, combining digitalization of promotional data and supporting safe consumer credit, to both protect people and maintain stable consumption momentum.

In addition, experts also recommend strengthening control over price increases and virtual price reductions, accelerating retail digitalization and connecting promotional data nationwide. At the same time, designing safe and controlled consumer credit packages will help people feel secure in spending, creating a sustainable foundation for the consumer market's resilience and contributing to economic growth at the end of the year.

Consumption is becoming the real driving force of economic growth in 2025. With the coordination between the state - businesses - people, stimulating demand is not only a year-end campaign but will become an important link in the long-term economic development strategy./.

Source: https://vtv.vn/kich-cau-tieu-dung-don-bay-mem-thuc-day-tang-truong-kinh-te-cuoi-nam-2025-100251123180842082.htm