Christmas-related services are booming.

As Christmas approaches, people's demand for entertainment and shopping increases sharply, and many services related to this event also become more vibrant.

Customers browse and shop as Christmas approaches - Photo: N.TRÍ

Many shops, cafes, and shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City have reported increasing entertainment programs and spending billions of dong on vibrant decorations to attract locals and tourists to come and have fun... thereby stimulating shopping demand.

All kinds of Christmas-related food

Over the past few days, observations at Diamond Plaza (District 1) have shown that the crowds flocking to the area for entertainment and "check-in" become increasingly large and lively as night falls.

Joining in the festive atmosphere, 3-4 street photographers enthusiastically invited visitors to capture beautiful moments. Watching the young couple engrossed in taking selfies with their phones, Mr. Thai Son (62 years old) confidently raised his professional camera, adjusted the angle, and smiled warmly.

After taking the photos, Mr. Son professionally introduced the service, saying, "It's only 10,000 VND per file. Please send it via Zalo."

Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, Mr. Sơn revealed that instant photos used to be popular, but now many customers just need photos to "show off" on social media.

Therefore, in addition to still carrying his photo printing machine for customers who need it at a price of 30,000 - 50,000 VND per photo, he proactively sends digital files to customers.

"I've invested in more modern equipment to compete with smartphones. Thanks to the increased demand during the holiday season, I can earn several hundred thousand dong per night, or even a million dong."

Taking advantage of the festive season, Nguyen Duc Huy (26 years old), who works in the hotel industry, uses his free time to take photos and earn extra income. Each evening, Huy earns between 200,000 and 300,000 VND thanks to young people who want more glamorous and artistic photos taken with his high-end camera.

"It's only 10,000 VND per photo. I send the files via Zalo, and customers usually like many photos, so taking pictures for 2-3 couples or groups of friends is enough money to buy groceries for the next day," Huy said enthusiastically.

At this time of year, in addition to photography services, many young people also dress up as Santa Claus or cartoon characters to create a festive atmosphere and take photos with customers for a fee of their choice.

Working as a Santa Claus in the central area of ​​District 1 from 6 PM to 10 PM, Mr. Hoang Cong Van (Thu Duc City) said that thanks to the large number of customers, he can earn 300,000 - 500,000 VND each night, and sometimes even 600,000 - 700,000 VND.

In the area around Notre Dame Cathedral, and in major shopping malls like Saigon Centre, Takashimaya, or the Ho Chi Minh City Book Street, the atmosphere becomes increasingly lively as night falls.

Besides services related to "virtual life" (taking photos for social media), services capitalizing on the festive season, such as selling fashion items , food, drinks, and photography accessories, are also thriving, generating significant revenue for businesses.

The owner of a beverage shop near Notre Dame Cathedral (District 1) said that evening and weekend revenue has increased by about 25-35% compared to last month, with most of the customers coming from young people celebrating Christmas.

Similarly, thanks to Christmas, representatives of many fashion stores in shopping malls such as Diamond and Vincom... said that the number of customers increased by an average of 20-30% compared to the previous month.

Preparations started in the middle of the year to attract customers.

A representative from Diamond Plaza shared that Christmas and Tet (Lunar New Year) are always two key occasions for Diamond Plaza to attract customers to visit and shop. The decoration plan is prepared at least six months in advance, from conceptualization and design approval to contractor selection, with an annual investment of billions of VND.

This year, Diamond Plaza is pushing the Santa Claus store theme. Construction of these items will take 5-7 days.

"Currently, the number of visitors has increased by over 50%, and this increase is steadily rising every day. We predict an even stronger increase as Christmas approaches."

"Especially on the weekends leading up to Christmas (December 21st and 22nd, 24th and 25th), the venue will have additional activities such as musical performances and photo opportunities with Santa Claus..." - a representative from Diamond Plaza said.

Meanwhile, areas along streets such as Hai Thuong Lan Ong (District 5), 3-2 Street (District 10)... also recorded significantly more vibrant shopping activity, with purchasing power at many stores increasing sharply compared to the previous week.

Having just spent over 2 million VND on artificial Christmas trees and decorations on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, Ms. Nguyen Thi Mo (District 3) said that this year prices haven't increased much compared to previous years, and there are more trendy decorative products like Labubu... so she has been able to shop more.

Having started selling Christmas decorations at the beginning of September, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tuyen, owner of a shop on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, said that thanks to an increase in designs with many handcrafted decorative products such as velvet and silk bows, trendy items, etc., and many customers proactively shopping, the number of customers has doubled compared to the previous 10 days, especially during the busiest hours of 6 PM to 9 PM.

According to many vendors, although customer demand increases sharply as Christmas approaches, overall purchasing power tends to decrease slightly by about 10-15% compared to last year, and customers tend to be more hesitant when choosing to buy high-priced products such as artificial Christmas trees.

Invest heavily in turning it into a check-in spot to boost sales.

Many retailers say that having beautiful scenery for customers to take photos and check in is crucial to attracting them, so they have no choice but to invest. Ms. Tien Thi Yen Ngan, store manager of the Hoa Sen University bookstore, said that they started decorating for Christmas in November and this year invested more heavily in decorations than in previous years, so the number of customers increased sharply as Christmas approached, especially for "checking in" and shopping.

"Besides the decorations, the unit has proactively diversified its services, such as selling handcrafted souvenirs like embroidered hanging ornaments, embroidered keychains, and embroidered bags. There are also greeting cards, keychains, and magnets featuring Vietnamese food and scenic spots... all painted by Saigon artists," Ms. Ngan said.

Services catering to "Instagrammable" moments during Christmas are booming - Photo: N.XUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/soi-dong-cac-dich-vu-an-theo-giang-sinh-20241215224712761.htm