Excluding the price factor, theseven-month sales climbed 9.6%, compared to the growth of 11.7%during the same period last year.
Goods retail sales are estimated atnearly 2.78 quadrillion VND during the period, accounting for 78.7% of the totaland rising 9% from a year earlier. In particular, retail sales of food went up12.9%, cultural and educational products 10.1%, apparel 8.8%, household toolsand equipment 3.6%, and vehicles (except for automobiles) 1.7%.
Meanwhile, accommodation andrestaurant services generated about 377.3 trillion VND in revenue, making up10.7% of the total and rising 16.3%.
Tourism revenue soared 53.6% to 18.6trillion VND, as July was the peak month of summertourism. Some localities have recorded surges in seven-month tourism revenue suchas Da Nang 99.7%, Hanoi 89.7%, Quang Ninh 82.5%, Khanh Hoa 75.1%, Hai Phong68.1%, Ho Chi Minh City 43.5%, Can Tho 33.4%, and Binh Duong 21.3%.
Earnings from other services stood at356.2 trillion VND, equivalent to 10.1% and up 13.8% year on year.
July witnessed vibrant retailing andservices, especially tourism, theGSO said, elaborating that retail sales and consumer service revenue totalled 512.2trillion VND, up 1.1% month on month and 7.1% year on year./.