HCM City has launched a progamme in which businesses offer higher discounts than normal to stimulate demand. – VNA Photo Thanh Dat

HCM City is organising a number of activities to boost retail demand as local lives return to normalcy after the social distancing period.

Nguyen Huynh Trang, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said many businesses had signed up for two-month promotional programmes designed to stimulate demand.

Businesses in the programme can launch promotional activities and offer up to 100 per cent discount (as opposed to the usual limit of 50 per cent) as well as benefit from the programme’s general promotional activities in the media.

The programme will be held until the end of July at most of the city’s markets, supermarkets and malls. Online businesses can also benefit from the programme.

The total amount of goods signed up so far has reached over VND146 billion (US$6.3 million) in value.

The city is also working with other regional localities' departments of Industry and Trade to organise a trade fair to stimulate demand and promote the regions' respective strengths. The fair, to be held July 2 to 5 in Thu Duc District, will allow participating businesses to offer discounts higher than 50 per cent. Around 500 stalls are expected to be set up.

The first five months of the year saw a 4.9 per cent year-on-year decrease in total retail and consumer service revenue, at VND506.7 trillion, due to lower demand and a drop in tourism during the social distancing period.

While total retail revenue saw an 8.4 per cent increase at VND331.5 trillion during the period, the growth rate was lower than the 13.7 per cent growth rate in 2019 against the same period the previous year. – VNS