A ShopeeFood poster for its ‘October 10 - Brand Party’ promotion. Photo thanhnien.vn

HCM CITY – E-commerce and delivery platforms in HCM City are launching a slew of promotions as the city eases social distancing after they remained closed or faced restrictions for a long period amid lockdowns.

Food delivery app ShopeeFood has ‘October 10 - Brand Party’ with incentives for its drivers, restaurants and app users after it resumed its services following several months of closure.

The two-week event until October 10 offers users a 50 per cent discount on its own meals, 10 million discount vouchers worth up to VNĐ 101,000 and free delivery.

It will support drivers’ cost of COVID-19 testing with VNĐ500,000 (US$21.7) per week if they deliver over 60 orders between September 24 and 30. It also offers a ‘ShopeeFood Driver Support Package’ with support of VNĐ1 million (US$43.4) per delivery driver.

ShopeeFood has cut its advertising support fee for restaurants and eateries.

Another e-commerce platform, Lazada, also realising that the easing of social distancing has sparked a race to gain market share, has announced attractive promotions under its ‘October 10 Shopping Festival’ from October 10 to 14.

It will offer customers discount vouchers up to VNĐ400,000 and free shipping nation-wide.

From October 5-13 Tiki also has millions of super cheap deals, coupons for VNĐ1 million discounts, VND10,000 same price programme for many products, discounts up to 50 per cent, and free delivery.

Analysts said the competition between e-commerce platforms is set to become even fiercer than before, and those that invested in technology and logistics during the pandemic lockdown period would not only retain their customers but also attract new ones.

The city's COVID prevention regulations require shippers to carry disinfectant solutions and spray on goods and cash before and after delivery.

The city encourages people to use cashless payment methods when buying. – VNS