The inevitable shift of the retail industry

In the heart of Hanoi , a series of commercial streets such as Pham Ngoc Thach, Chua Boc, Kim Ma, or Cau Giay,... are witnessing a "desolate" scene when many shops have closed, returned their premises and hung up "for rent" signs, even though not long ago they were still lit up all night, bustling with customers coming and going.

**Street retail (traditional markets) in Vietnam. (Photo: HNV/Nhan Dan Newspaper)**

The cost of renting premises is sky-high, in some places up to hundreds of millions of dong per month for an area of only about 50-70m2 ^. , combined with declining revenue are identified as the main causes of the above situation. However, when analyzed more deeply, it can be seen that the explosion of e-commerce and digital platforms after the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything as customers are no longer interested in walking around the streets, trying on clothes or jostling to shop. Instead, people can online shopping through a few taps on the phone screen.

From an economic perspective, this is not a recession but an inevitable transition. In fact, many large fashion and culinary brands have begun to flexibly adjust. Instead of opening a series of stores on the same street, they only keep showrooms and small stores for the purpose of experience so that customers can try, see samples and be guided to buy online.

To respond to this shifting trend, it is necessary to develop specific and long-term solutions for retail industry Vietnam, through building a more flexible commercial space conversion strategy, encourages small business models that combine online and offline. Instead of leaving large spaces empty, they can be converted into creative experience areas, cafes combined with workspaces, or small service centers such as online pickup points and product repair points.

This not only helps maintain the vitality of the streets but also creates new values, in line with modern urban planning; at the same time, there is a need for digital training support for households. small businesses, helping them convert from “real stores” to “virtual stores” without too much initial cost.

More importantly, the stores and retail businesses themselves need to focus on improving their capacity, increasing cooperation to optimize logistics costs; integrating technology into management and sales; promoting digital payments, improving customer experience through livestream sales, accumulating points when buying offline, but being able to redeem gifts online.

These could be solutions to help limit negative impacts on the traditional retail market, gradually turning challenges into opportunities, in line with current trends of e-commerce and digital economy.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/su-chuyen-dich-tat-yeu-cua-nganh-ban-le-5065200.html