Like many people, Ms. Pham Ngoc Hue, a Hanoi resident, plans to cut her shopping budget for the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday which falls on early February 2022. She will only focus on buying essential goods for her family. “I will cut down my spending this year because of the pandemic, and will think twice when selecting which goods to buy for my family,” Hue said. According to economists, consumer spending power is expected to decline in the remaining months of the year due to the lingering pandemic destabilising jobs and incomes. People will tend to focus only on essentials. “Prices need to be effectively controlled. The supply of goods to major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City must be ensured,” economist Vu Vinh Phu said. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and localities have implemented a range of promotional programs, connecting supply and demand and sending Vietnamese goods to rural, mountainous, and island areas. Strengthening inspections and control over the market to fight smuggling and trade fraud and ensure food safety are among the solutions identified to develop the domestic market effectively and sustainably./.