Customers look for laptops for their children at Phong Vu Shop in HCM City’s District 3. VNA/VNS Photo

Parents in HCM City and elsewhere said while earlier they had been content to have just one common laptop at home or have their children use smartphones, they now have to buy laptops for their children’s online classes.

Nguyen Dinh of the city’s Binh Thanh District said he decided to buy a laptop for his son because he could not let his son share his constantly, but most shops had run out of those priced at below VND10 million (US$434).

Le Hoang Thanh, head of FPT Shop’s laptop product line, said sales rose 150 per cent in February.

Le Tri Cong, director of Tri Cong Informatics Commerce and Service said sales of desktops and used laptops have also increased as people look for cheap computers for their children.

Laptops priced at VND10-12 million ($434-520 million) have been the most popular followed by brands like Dell, HP, Acer, and Asus that cost VND16-20 million.

With online classes depending on videos, sellers also reported a spike in demand for webcams.

Many retailers said certain laptop brands are under-stocked amid the rising demand, but supply is hampered by COVID-19.

But despite the demand, prices have remained relatively steady, with many retailers even offering promotions such as discounts and free programmes.  VNS

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Seeing his son get excited about online learning, Thu decided to register him for an English online class run by an overseas Vietnamese who teaches via Zoom.