Record heat in Ho Chi Minh City, many services reap profits due to sudden increase in customers

Income doubled thanks to the heat

Every day at 10am, Tang Duy Anh (25 years old, District 5) "turns off the app" for about 10 minutes to quickly eat the lunch he prepared at home. Because after this period of time, a series of orders will continuously "jump" to the phone, signaling a busy noon for Duy Anh as well as many other shippers.

On hot days in Ho Chi Minh City, shippers work continuously on the streets. Photo: Minh Tam — On hot days in Ho Chi Minh City, shippers loaded with goods (right photo) work continuously on the streets. Photo: Minh Tam

According to Duy Anh, for more than a month now, the number of customers ordering online has increased "dramatically", of which more than 80% are customers ordering lunch, delivered to offices and boarding houses. "Maybe because it's too sunny, many people are afraid to go out, preferring to order food online. Usually, customers will place orders between 11am - 12pm, each order also takes about 20 - 40 minutes to be delivered to the customer", Duy Anh shared.

According to the 25-year-old male shipper, the increase in the number of online shoppers during the hot season has helped his income increase many times over, even though the delivery fee is not high. "On average, I 'pocket' about 300,000 - 400,000 VND per day from delivery, a significant increase compared to the time when Ho Chi Minh City had not yet entered the peak of the hot season."

According to Lao Dong reporters, around noon from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., many food businesses, fast food stores, soft drink stores, coffee shops, milk tea shops... continuously have shippers on duty to take orders and deliver to customers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy sells juice during noon to serve customers to avoid the heat in District 11. Photo: Minh Tam

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, owner of a beverage shop on Han Hai Nguyen Street (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) said that due to the hot weather, the number of customers coming to the shop to drink has decreased significantly, while the number of customers ordering online and requesting home delivery has increased, accounting for more than 60% of the number of orders each day.

Many items "reign" in hot season

Beverages and sunscreen products are recording high consumption in the hot weather that will continue in the coming time.

According to the reporter's records, along Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Dinh Bo Linh, and 3/2 streets, many mobile beverage shops have continuously sprung up to serve the cooling needs of passersby these days.

The sugarcane juice shop of My Hien and her husband (Binh Thanh district) sells about 500-600 cups a day. Photo: Minh Tam

At Ms. Tran Thi My Hien's beverage shop on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street (Binh Thanh District), although it only serves take-away customers, her shop sells 200 - 300 glasses of water every day, with some days peaking at 500 - 600 glasses.

"Because there is no space to put tables and chairs and the weather is extremely hot, I only serve take-out. Luckily, I have many customers who support me," said Ms. Hien.

According to Ms. Hien, the busiest time is usually from 10am to 12pm, from 2pm to 4pm and in the evening. Each order will have about 1-2 glasses of water, and sometimes there will be large orders of 10-15 glasses.

Some items such as sun-protective dresses also increased in price because many women buy them to avoid the sun. Photo: Minh Tam

In addition, some products such as robes and sun-protective dresses also "increase in popularity" according to the weather. A shop owner specializing in selling suitcases and sun-protective products on Highway 13 (Binh Thanh District) said that robes, gloves, and sun-protective dresses are "sold all year round", with customers coming in almost every day, mainly technology car drivers.

"Revenue from sun protection products has increased in recent days, but not much different from when the sun is mild. Customers ask for the most sun protection gloves and face masks," the store owner shared.

According to information from the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, the heat wave tends to expand in the Southeast provinces, including Ho Chi Minh City, and will continue to increase in the coming days, accompanied by the UV index in districts of Ho Chi Minh City increasing to a very high risk threshold.

After a period of intense heat, a lot of water evaporates, causing the humidity to increase, so the heat begins to feel very stuffy and uncomfortable. The forecast temperature in weather reports is often 2 - 4 degrees Celsius lower than the actual outdoor temperature.

Recently, in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the central districts, the outdoor temperature is sometimes 5-6 degrees Celsius higher than the meteorological temperature and reaches a record high of 43 degrees Celsius, or even higher depending on the conditions of the surface such as concrete and asphalt.

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