People tighten spending or new consumer trends?

Non-essential goods sales down

Statistics on retail activities in Ha Tinh in August, just announced by the General Statistics Office, have shown a clear differentiation in terms of goods. While essential products such as food (estimated at over VND 3,235 billion, up 1.82% over the previous month and 15.41% over the same period last year); household appliances and tools (estimated at VND 976.5 billion, up 3.23% over the previous month and 60.47% over the same period last year), non-essential goods, especially luxury goods and expensive vehicles, tend to decrease sharply.

Purchasing power at Hoang Ha mobile has decreased because the demand for buying expensive technology devices is no longer as vibrant as before.

For example, cars of all kinds (under 9 seats) are estimated at 148.6 billion VND, down 9.17% compared to the previous month, down 21.09% compared to the same period last year; garments, fashion ; offices, education are only seasonal, gradually decreasing from the end of the month because it is past the time when students are shopping to prepare for the new school year; electronic and technological products such as televisions and mobile phones almost all have difficulty in stimulating purchasing power.

Hoang Ha Mobile phone and technology equipment retail system, Ha Tinh branch (Tran Phu street - Thanh Sen ward) has recorded a decrease in revenue due to difficult business situation, the number of customers has decreased significantly in recent months. According to sales staff, there were times when the number of customers and store revenue decreased by 50% compared to 1 year ago, especially mobile phones. At this time, although there are many factors to stimulate demand such as: promotional programs to welcome the new school year, preparing to open a system to receive deposits for the newly launched Iphone 17 mobile phones, the store's operations have not been able to regain a vibrant pace.

Fashion stores and showrooms are not doing much better. At Savani Fashion Center (Phan Dinh Phung Street - Thanh Sen Ward), revenue in July and August decreased by about 10% compared to June. Ms. Hoang Ngoc Anh - store manager said: "In the past 2 months, the number of customers and shopping bills per customer have decreased. If before, each customer bought an average of 3-4 products, now it is only about 1-2 products. The main reason is due to the damage after storm No. 5, people's demand for fashion products has decreased significantly; in addition, this is the low season for business, so the number of customers is only maintained, only more crowded on weekends".

Savani Fashion Center's revenue in July and August decreased about 10% compared to June.

Regarding vehicles, while means of transport (motorbikes, bicycles, etc.) still had an index increase of 2.72% compared to the previous month and 49.36% compared to the same period last year; repair services for motor vehicles, motorbikes, and scooters increased by 3.44% compared to the previous month and 20.21% compared to the same period last year, but cars (under 9 seats) decreased by 21.09%.

Many opinions say that this consumption picture is quite a true reflection of reality, when the economy has not really recovered, people still tighten spending and tend to choose popular, low-cost means of transport. In particular, it is currently coinciding with the 7th lunar month - a time when many Vietnamese people avoid buying large assets, which are factors that combine to reduce demand.

In the automobile market, the electric vehicle segment still maintains the best growth rate, thanks to the changing trend of consumers using personal cars, towards vehicles with economical features, using environmentally friendly fuel and selling prices within people's investment capacity.

Vinfast is still the car company with the number 1 sales in Ha Tinh.

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Hoang - Sales Director of Vinfast Ha Tinh said: "In the first quarter, we sold 100 - 200 cars per month, but since April, it has slowed down to 90 - 120 cars sold per month. However, Vinfast is still the car company with the number 1 sales in Ha Tinh, meeting the current customer psychology of focusing on electric cars. According to forecasts, the positive situation of the car market will return at the end of the year, we are striving to achieve the goal of capturing 35% of the car market share in Ha Tinh".

Adjust your spending habits, only shop when necessary

Although there has not been a complete survey of the spending levels of Ha Tinh people recently, comments from businesses and sales units all say that purchasing power has decreased, and goods are selling much slower than before. Consumers also admit that they are tending to tighten spending in the context of an unstable economy.

Many people implement a tight spending policy, prioritizing the purchase of essential goods.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Tran Phu ward is an office worker. About half a year ago, she started implementing a frugal spending policy. “My family has 4 people, there are quite a lot of expenses. Since the beginning of this year, my husband and I's income has decreased, while fixed living expenses such as electricity and gas bills have increased; prices of vegetables, meat, eggs, etc. have continuously fluctuated, so I have to save. Currently, we only prioritize spending on food, food, education, the rest of personal needs and consumer goods are temporarily cut and stopped" - Ms. Hien said.

Many people believe that the recent increase in gold prices is partly due to people's consumption habits, shifting towards safe storage. Illustrative photo

Not only Ms. Hien, but this is also the common view of many people today. Ms. Tran Hoai Thuong - a young person in Thanh Sen ward shared: "Instead of the habit of eating breakfast out, drinking coffee, buying expensive clothes... now I am learning the habit of minimal spending, minimal needs. I will save the money I save or buy gold to store. I think this is the optimal choice in times of price fluctuations like now."

According to data from the Provincial Statistics Office, in August 2025, precious stones and metals increased by 2.25% compared to the previous month, up 45.42% compared to the same period last year. From the beginning of September until now, the price of gold has continued to increase. Partly due to the influence of the world market situation, but on the other hand, the domestic economy has not really recovered, the continuous impacts from the world economy have made consumer psychology tend to focus on the need for investment accumulation, safe shelter, especially with gold at a high level.

Saving, accumulating and spending minimally instead of the habit of shopping freely as before is a popular trend. According to consumers, this solution helps people proactively respond to unpredictable market fluctuations and take control of their personal finances. On the positive side, this is also a modern consumer trend, valuing real, sustainable and smart values in choosing products and services.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/nguoi-dan-that-chat-chi-tieu-hay-xu-the-tieu-dung-moi-post295465.html