Queuing for half an hour to pay at the supermarket during the peak shopping day of Tet

With nearly a week left until Lunar New Year, people's shopping needs have increased dramatically. At 5 p.m. on February 3, the entrance of a shopping mall in Cau Giay district ( Hanoi ) was crowded with customers. Many people jostled each other through the narrow aisles with shopping carts loaded with goods. In this area, the loudspeaker continuously announced that the supermarket had run out of shopping carts and asked customers to get their carts from the yard.

The supermarket parking lot is full. The parking lot for motorbikes and bicycles is also about to be overloaded on both floors. This is the last weekend before the new year of the Dragon, so many families are taking advantage of the time to go shopping.

Hanh Trang said she didn't need too many goods but it still took her nearly 2 hours to shop and wait to pay because it was too crowded.

Inside the shopping area, people jostle each other. The candy counter attracts many female customers. Many types of candy and cakes are popular, sold by weight. The prices of these products range from 60,000 to 200,000 VND/kg.

The checkout area had a long line. The counters were lit up and the staff were working nonstop.

Because it was so crowded, many customers were tired of waiting their turn to pay.

Mr. Ngo Quang Thang (living in Dong Da district) said that every year he and his wife come here to buy gifts for Lunar New Year. "Today, my wife and I each have a cart. Because my cart was full, I went out to reserve a spot to pay, my wife still chose a few more items. Today's shopping took nearly 3 hours. As for payment, I waited for 30 minutes but it was not my turn yet," Mr. Thang said.

Like Mr. Thang, many men take advantage of their days off to take their relatives shopping for Tet gifts.

The shopping carts are gradually filling up. The square-boxed cakes, with elegant paper bags on the outside, with an average price of 150,000 - 250,000 VND, are chosen by many customers.

A customer paid a bill of nearly 3 million VND, mainly for food and candy for Tet. She said she would definitely have to go shopping again because there were still many things missing.