Retail sales up 12.2 percent in January
Total revenue from retail trade and services in Vietnam reached an estimated 402.2 trillion VND (17.26 billion USD) in January, up 4.4 percent month-on-month and 12.2 percent year-on-year, the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed.
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GSO statisticians attributed the first month’s positive increase to the rising purchasing demand of local people for the upcoming Tet holiday and efforts of enterprises in stockpiling goods to better serve the peak demand.
The retail value of goods totaled 305.4 trillion VND, surging 5.2 percent over last December and 13.1 percent over the same month last year with significant sale increases seen in food and foodstuffs (13.1 percent), and textile and garments (13.4 percent), according to the report.
Among localities nationwide, the capital city of Hanoi posted the highest growth in retail sales of goods at 15.1 percent. It was followed by the northern port city of Hai Phong at 14.5 percent; northern Bac Ninh province at 14 percent; the central city of Da Nang at 13.1 percent and HCM City at 13 percent.
As per the data, retail sales of services topped 43 trillion VND, representing a monthly rise of 1.8 percent and a yearly increase of 7.4 percent.
Meanwhile, revenue from restaurants, accommodation and catering services was also up 1.4 percent month-on-month and 7.7 percent year-on-year to 49.5 trillion VND and that from tourism hit 4.3 trillion VND, a hike of 8 percent over last year’s corresponding month.
According to the Vietnam Institute for Trade Research, the goods retail market is seeing a blooming trend of minimarts 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 2021-2025 period.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment’s statistics showed the wholesale and retail sector ranked third in attracting foreign direct investment in 2018 with total registered capital of 3.37 billion USD, accounting for 10.3 percent of the country’s FDI.
Last year, total retail sales of goods and services in Vietnam reached nearly 4.4 quadrillion VND, representing a rise of 11.7 percent against the previous year. That reflected strong purchasing power in the domestic market, the GSO said.
