Shopping in Vanuatu

Port Vila, Luganville, Lenakel and other population centres offer formal retail shops and supermarkets. Port Vila Central Market, provincial and wet markets, roadside sellers and village stalls are important channels for fresh goods and locally produced items, whose availability depends on season, weather and island transport. Personal-care products, household goods, clothing and technology are more dependent on imported stock, so selection and restocking can be narrower outside the main centres. The Vanuatu vatu is also written as VT. Price information on tags, signs and brochures should be provided in English, French or Bislama. VAT is 15% on most taxable domestic supplies and most imports; a VAT-registered seller should provide a tax invoice showing the supplier, tax identification number, date, goods, quantities, amounts and VAT, or stating that VAT is included. Keep the receipt because the Vanuatu Statistics and Management System (VSMS) allows missing or unclear receipts to be reported. Cash is widely used: the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu's 2025 demand survey recorded a 94% preference for cash in everyday transactions and 61% of respondents using only cash, while 20% preferred digital payments. Cards, ATMs, bank transfers, mobile banking, QR payments and wallets such as M-Vatu, MyCash and Kwik Pay exist, but acceptance, fees, limits, network coverage and agent access depend on the provider and location. Online shopping remains fragmented. Social-media sales and direct imports can work, but the buyer should verify the seller, storage location, total VT price, shipping, customs and VAT, return terms, payment finality, warranty and delivery evidence before paying. Vanuatu Post offers parcel, registered and EMS services, with tracking and signature for EMS, but delivery reaches major or selected centres and depends on island transport, carriers and customs. For private post or airfreight consignments with a free-on-board value of up to VT 10,000, duty-free treatment may apply; Customs can combine several consignments, and restricted goods, VAT and other charges should be checked before ordering. Vanuatu has no single nationwide platform or standardised authority for ordinary shopping complaints, returns or refunds. Start with the seller and preserve the receipt, photographs, messages, payment record and delivery proof; police or a prosecutor are relevant when there is evidence of fraud, while the Telecommunications, Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator handles telecom complaints rather than ordinary goods disputes. The Waste Management Act prohibits producing, selling or giving out thin polyethylene shopping bags below 35 microns, certain polystyrene takeaway boxes below 30 centimetres and single-use plastic drinking straws, subject to exceptions such as product-integrated packaging, meat or fish hygiene and thicker reusable bags. Baskets, calico, cardboard, paper and reusable thick bags are practical alternatives, although recycling and take-back services are not available through one nationwide system.