Retail sales up 11.5 percent in January-August

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam’s total revenues for retail trade and services reached an estimated 3.21 quadrillion VND (137.4 billion USD) in the first eight months of 2019, up 11.5 percent year on year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced.

This positive growth proved the rising demand of local people, GSO statisticians have said, adding that if the price factor was excluded, purchasing power in the first seven months increased by 9.03 percent, higher than the 8.9 percent recorded in the same period of last year.

Retail sales of goods during the period were estimated at 2.44 quadrillion VND (104.9 billion USD), surging 12.5 percent year on year or accounting for 76 percent of the total revenue.

Among all sectors, purchases of educational and cultural products grew by 14 percent year on year, followed by food and foodstuff (13.6 percent), home appliances (11 percent) and textiles and apparel (10.5 percent) and transportation (8.5 percent).

The localities with the highest purchasing power growth rates included Quang Ninh (20 percent); Binh Duong (18 percent); Thanh Hoa (15 percent); Hai Phong (14.7 percent) beside to Nghe An and Binh Dinh (14 percent) and Da Nang (13.5 percent). Meanwhile, two economic hubs of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi lagged behind with respective growths of 13.3 percent and 13 percent.

According to GSO, revenue from accommodation and catering services rose 10 percent year-on-year to nearly 386 trillion VND (16.56 billion USD), making up 12 percent of the total revenue.

During the same period, travel service revenues totalled 29.7 trillion VND (more than 1.27 billion USD), with Binh Dinh province witnessing the largest increase at 19 percent, followed by Thanh Hoa and Khanh Hoa at 15 percent and 14.5 percent respectively and HCM City at 13 percent.

Revenues of other services were estimated at 355 trillion VND (15.27 billion USD), 7 percent higher than the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam Institute for Trade Research, the goods retail market is seeing an increase at mini marts and convenience stores.

The institute forecast that convenience stores would see double-digit growth in the next three years and reach 37.4 percent growth in 2021.

Under the domestic trade development strategy, total sales of goods and services would grow by 13 percent each year through 2020 and by 14 percent per year in the 2021-25 period.

The Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment in January-August period with total registered capital of 1.2 billion USD, accounting for 5.2 percent of the country’s total FDI. - VNS/VNA