Besides visiting historical landmarks, shopping is also an exciting thing to do that can help you understand more about the lifestyle of people in Saigon. So let’s get insights about the fanciest shopping malls, the shopping streets, and the crowded local markets in the city.
1/ Shopping Malls in Saigon
Full Guide: Top Shopping Malls in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Recently, the number of shopping centers in Saigon has increased rapidly. As an unwritten rule, the newer malls are always more spectacular, bigger, and more attractive than the previous ones. However, if we must mention the most familiar names, they are Takashimaya (or Saigon Center), Vincom Center, Parkson, Diamond Plaza, Cresent Mall, SV Vivo City, Aeon Malls, and Saigon Square.
Takashimaya Vietnam
Address: 92-94 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District
Type of products: branded clothes, perfumes, and food
Price: high price for luxury stuff, affordable price for food
Takashimaya Vietnam is invested by the Japanese and targets middle and upper-class shoppers. Additionally, Takashimaya Mall is five-floored tall and carries a wide range of products from famous branches such as Banana Republic, Bebe, Bosnia, and Braun Buffel in a huge total retail space of 15,000 square meters.
The first level is the place for jewelry, cosmetics, and fragrances such as Shiseido, Bobbi Brown, Clarins, L’occitane, Shiseido, Christian Dior, and Laneige. The second and third levels are dedicated to fashion, especially children’s clothing and casual wear for men. Takashimaya also houses a massive food court at the ground floor and luxury restaurants on the fifth floor, where you can find popular Japanese food such as Gyumri, Minamoto Kitchoan, Azabu Sabo, Yamazaki, and Suizan, as well as Vietnamese brands like Phuc Long and Banh Mi Great.
Recently, the balcony on the 6th floor of Takashimaya is also officially opened to everyone. The space here is quite extensive and cool. Standing in this place, you can have a scenic panoramic view of Saigon.
Locating right in the heart of Saigon, Takashimaya is the highlight of the list since it offers a convenient and comfortable stop when you want to go shopping in Saigon during your holiday.
Vincom Center
Address: 72 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1
Type of products: branded clothes, cinema, and restaurants
Price: high price for luxury stuff, affordable price for food and drinks
Vincom Center is a great centralized location for shopping in Saigon. This Westernized shopping mall is separated into two buildings opposite each other, Vincom Center A and Vincom Center B. This shopping mall has a total land area of retail at up to 50,000 square meters with more than 250 fashion shops, restaurants, café, and a recreational area.
If you are searching for high-quality or luxury products, this should be on the top of your shopping list in Saigon because this place houses many international luxury brands with flagship stores. You can also enjoy a shopping break by stopping at convenient restaurants or cafes. They have food from most regions, including Japan, Thailand, Korea, and international franchises.
Saigon Square
Address:
81 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1 (at the corner of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Loi)
181 Hai Ba Trung, District 3 (near Le Van Tam Park)
Type of products: clothes and shoes
Price: reasonable prices, and much more appealing price if you master bargain skill
Saigon Square has two branches; one is on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, and the other is on Hai Ba Trung Street. Saigon Square is not as luxurious as the above-mentioned malls. It is like a fancy version of a local market since it is located indoors, has air conditioning, and offers various items. Like other local markets in Saigon, you must bargain if you shop here. Additionally, the merchandise here is classified and sold in kiosks like an open market. The quality of goods here is relatively good, and the customers are mainly young shopaholics and foreign tourists. In particular, in the last days of the year, both branches of Saigon Square offer a lot of attractive promotions for all kinds of different items, serving the needs of all customers.
See Where to Buy Knockoff Designer Brands in Saigon.
2/ Local Markets in Saigon
Full Guide: Saigon on Bikes through Local Markets
Besides the fancy fashion boutiques and glamorous shopping malls, shopping in the traditional local markets is all about the bustling where the goods are at much lower prices. Moreover, finding a potential deal and practicing bargaining skills is an excellent opportunity.
Ben Thanh Market
Address: Le Loi Street, District 1
Type of products: almost everything, including clothes, fabric, food, cooking equipment, accessories, and watches
Price: varies and cheap, but be careful with overpricing since tourists are often charged a higher price
Ben Thanh Market is always at the top when mentioning local markets in Saigon. Being one of the famous landmarks in Saigon, the market is mainly for tourist consumption. It provides every souvenir, including trinkets, t-shirts, hats, coffee, coffee filters, tea, fresh fruit, lanterns, lacquerware, art, dodgy electronics, toys, jewelry, watches, shoes, purses, and snacks. You can end up hauling all these things home.
Besides goods, street food in the market is outstanding and authentic. However, Ben Thanh Market is a very big crowded market, and thus, browsing throughout the market can be exhausting, you should take a short break to try some dishes or just do some people-watching. You should also take good care of your belongings, as snatching and pickpockets may lurk around the place.
Dai Quang Minh Market
Address: 31 – 35 Chau Van Liem Street, Ward 14, District 5
Type of products: Accessories, handmade products
Price: approximately VND 20,000 for a bracelet or necklace
It can be said that there are no handmade lovers who do not know about Dai Quang Minh Market. Dai Quang Minh Market and Soai Kinh Lam Fabric Market are just one intersection away from each other in District 5. This place is regarded as a paradise for handmade materials. You can easily find many iconic materials for accessories like rings, leather cords, beads, fabric flowers, sewing, lace, ribbons, and pendants. Moreover, they are all sold at cheap prices. This market also supplies raw materials for many jewelry pieces or handmade shops in Saigon.
Soai Kinh Lam Fabric Market
Address: 465-473 Tran Hung Dao Street, District 5
Type of products: textile and fabric
Price: VND 40,000 – VND 250,000 for one meter. Wholesale prices are available.
Soai Kinh Lam Market (Dong Khanh Mall) is an old market considered a fabric paradise. This market is the address for fashion lovers, designers, or open clothing businesses. Situated at the end of Tran Hung Dao Street, you are easily overwhelmed by Soai Kinh Lam from the moment you set foot here. The whole area is clearly separated into different subdivisions, each of which sells its kind of fabric, including khaki, cotton, linen, leather, chiffon, and buckram, with various colors.
3/ Shopping Streets in Saigon
Full Guide: Top Shopping Streets in Ho Chi Minh City
Nguyen Trai Street
Address: Nguyen Trai Street, District 1 and District 5
Type of products: clothes and shoes
Price: around VND 70,000 to VND 400,000 per item
Nguyen Trai Street is a pretty long street connecting District 1 and District 5. This street is extremely popular among teenagers since it gathers numerous fashion shops at local prices. However, as an inevitable consequence, the quality of clothes is not as good as branded clothes, but the style is widely varied and trendy.
The interesting thing is that this street’s fashion and price are divided. If you shop in District 5, the fashion shops mostly sell cheap imported or exported clothes. Meanwhile, Nguyen Trai Street in District 1 gathers famous brand names and even international brands in the country. It can be said that Nguyen Trai Street is a shopping heaven for college or office girls since the brand’s style is polite and feminine. It has a typical brand fashion chain such as Hnoss, Tinfour, and Dottie. In addition, there are also brand clothing stores for events, such as Magnon and JT Lane.
42 Nguyen Hue Apartment
Address: 42 Nguyen Hue, District 1
Type of products: designer clothes, shoes, coffee shops, and restaurants
Price: around VND 350,000 for clothes, VND 50,000 for coffee
Nguyen Hue Street is the center of most luxury services, from restaurants and hotels to shopping. But this street’s most stand-out shopping place is the 42 Nguyen Hue Apartment.
From the outside, you cannot imagine that there are many extravagant and luxurious stores inside a dusty apartment, just like other stories on the streets. The fashion at these shop fashions is incredibly stylish and quickly catches the trend for young people. Additionally, the shop owners are often very young and well-known in the youth community. For those artistic young owners, 42 Nguyen Hue Apartment is a great place to liberate creativity and create a sense of secret mysteries when someone wants to come.
For shoppers, the sense of mystery and curiosity while shopping is an exciting experience. Walking down the old stairs, you can find high-quality stores that are incredibly modern. It’s like you’ve discovered a hidden gem. This is something that the youth generation in Saigon likes. Besides this apartment, there are several others around District 1 at an address like 14 Ton That Dam, 42 Ton That Thiep, or 26 Ly Tu Trong.
4/ Things to Buy in Saigon
Full Guide: What You Should Buy in Saigon
Coffee and Tea
Brought to Vietnam by the French colony in the 19th century, coffee and tea plants have grown in many Central Highland, Vietnam provinces. Both the quantity and quality are of great value. There are many variants for you to choose from. And don’t forget to buy the tin coffee filter to make the Vietnamese style at home.
Silk and Custom-made Clothes
Even though silk craft villages are primarily in North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City and other major cities in Vietnam are the consuming places and exporting ports. Along with many stores selling high-quality silk, some shops in the city’s center, like District 1, sell fabric and make bespoke suits and dresses. The tailors’ skills are highly praised, and the costs are considered affordable. That is why custom-made clothing should be one of the best things you should shop for in Ho Chi Minh City.
Summary of Shopping in Saigon
Saigon is a bustling business land. Therefore, it can be said that you can find anything here since the variety of goods can meet almost every need. When it comes to shopping, especially for clothes, you would be stunned by the incredibly low prices and the widely varied styles. Consequently, shopping in Saigon could be a highlight of your trip.
Besides the aforementioned list, you can check out our private tours here. These will take you around Saigon with many excellent stopovers, including shopping locations.