As the festive season approaches, all corners of Ho Chi Minh City are festooned with Christmas-themed decorations and trees, with the majority stemming from China.

Many local stores are struggling to compete with online shops offering discounted Chinese goods.

Dinh Phu Anh, owner of A.P. Shop in Thu Duc City, acknowledged the importance of online sales.

He began selling his products on platforms like Shopee and TikTok earlier this year.

“Chinese decorations for Christmas dominate some e-commerce platforms in the local market,” he said.

He is not only shouldering several charges from the e-commerce platforms, but also entering the fierce competition with shops selling Chinese goods that are cheap and diverse.

Nguyen Bich Dao, a merchant who sells decorations at Thu Duc Market, said that apart from the variety of their designs, Chinese items sold online are shockingly inexpensive.

“A Christmas tree measuring 1.5 meters tall is sold at an online shop in China for only VND320,000 [US$12.6], plus free delivery, while I source these trees at VND300,000 [$11.8] apiece, and cannot sell it at their same price due to possible losses,” Dao lamented.

For example, Meng Ni, a retailer on Shopee, boasts Christmas decorations at affordable prices, including Christmas trees in all sizes, bags, lights, wreaths, and scented candles. 

Customers can find the store and others easily by searching for decorative items.

Multiple Chinese shops are selling ornaments on TikTok as well.

Fierce competition in domestic market

Nguyen Van Hung, a wholesaler specializing in sourcing goods from China, said that over the past few years, many festive decorations that are sold nationwide have been imported from China. 

This year marks stiffer competition as Chinese sellers, buoyed by e-commerce platforms, are rushing to introduce their products to Vietnamese consumers.

“With a wide variety of designs and types, along with free delivery, Chinese decorations sold online are drawing a large number of local buyers,” Hung said.

Meanwhile, demand for Christmas decorations is starting to surge at shops along Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in District 5 and Ba Thang Hai Street in District 10, as the festive spirit begins to envelop the city.

Decorated Christmas trees continue to be the most popular item this season. According to Nguyen Dinh Vu, the owner of a decor shop, the price for trees two meters or taller ranges from VND700,000 ($27.6) to VND3.5 million ($137.6) each.

Nguyen Van Nep, a merchant on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, said that while demand for ornaments is rising, it remains lower than last year.

“So far, sales have only reached about 15 precent of the inventory brought into the shop,” Nep said.

A representative from an ornament shop in District 10 stated that in previous years, some customers were willing to spend up to VND10 million ($394) on Christmas decorations.

However, spending has dropped significantly this year because of financial challenges.

To encourage purchases, many stores have kept prices steady or even reduced them.

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