As recorded by our reporter, many shops selling gifts and fresh flowers in Da Nang are seeing gloomy sales on Valentine's Day (February 14) when the number of customers decreases sharply while the prices of flowers increase significantly.

The owner of the Toto flower shop in Hoa Khe Ward, Thanh Khe District is arranging flowers according to customer's pre-order request.

Accordingly, fresh flower shops are seeing a 20-30% decline in the number of customers compared to previous years.

Mrs. Tran Thi To Uyen, the owner of a flower shop on Dien Bien Phu Street in Hoa Khe Ward, shared that she herself ordered flowers from Da Lat nearly a month ago to avoid price increases and choose the most beautiful flowers for the Valentine's Day.

“Despite favourable weather conditions since the beginning of the year, flower prices are still high. In particular, baskets of fresh flowers cost from VND500,000 to more than VND1 million. Many types of imported flowers are priced from VND1.5 million to VND3 million” she added.

For the retails, imported roses are being offered at the prices of VND50,000 - VND90,000 per sprig depending on the type, small sunflowers VND 200,000 per dozen, willow flowers VND100,000 VND per bundle, white and purple lilies from VND250,000 - VND300,000 per bundle, and orchids from VND110,000 - VND150,000 per bundle.

Mrs. Hoang Thi Lai, the owner of a fresh flower shop on Hai Phong Street, said that the Valentine's Day is the time to stimulate purchasing power after Tet, but the number of customers is not as expected.

“I have sourced more than 2,000 flowers of all kinds from other localities, and the prices of flowers increase by 20-30% compared to the same time last year. As of Tuesday morning, the amount of flowers was still quite large” Mrs. Lai said.

Meanwhile, the bustling trading atmosphere has been recorded at shops selling decorations and souvenirs for Valentine's Day in recent days, especially over the past two weekends.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung, the owner of a souvenir shop on Pham Nhu Xuong Street, said that this year's gift products are quite diverse with many eye-catching designs.

“Items like stuffed animals, chocolates and wax flowers are among the bestsellers, while other items such as stone lotus and statues are consumed more slowly. This year’s market is not as exciting as previous years’, and the number of customers at the store only accounts for more than 70% compared to this time last year" Mr. Hung noted.

At commercial centers and supermarkets, a number of popular gift items for Valentine's Day are sold in a variety of ways. Also, there are discounts and promotions for customers who buy on this occasion.

Specifically, the Co.opmart supermarket on Dien Bien Phu Street, Thanh Khe Dong Ward, Thanh Khe District, is offering promotions and discounting up to 50% for more than 1,000 typical items of Valentine's Day such as couple T- shirts, cosmetics, and chocolates.

Similarly, jewelry and gem stores across the city also take advantage of this opportunity to launch many incentives and promotions.

The Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ) is launching the retail market programme with the message ‘Giving each other a moment to mark a lifetime’ with many activities to stimulate shopping demand on Valentine's Day (February 14).

In particular, PNJ offers immediately stylish products to customers who buy gold jewelry, and preferential combos for those who buy diamonds worth VND100 million with 15% discount when buying diamond cases.

Red roses are favoured by many customers on Valentine's Day.

The fresh flower market reports gloomy sales when the number of visitors this year is much lower than at this time in previous years.

The market for decorative products, stuffed animals and chocolates is more vibrant with many new products.

Money flower bouquet is a unique product sold by many shops on this year's Valentine's Day

In addition, wax flower bouquets can be preserved for a long time

Chocolate boxes are indispensable on Valentine's Day

The Valentine market is considered to be no longer vibrant compared to previous years.

Reporting by CHIEN THANG - Translating by M.DUNG