The growth rate was lower than the rate recorded in 2018, but higher than those of the previous three years, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). From 2015 to 2017, retail sales growth was between 10 percent and 10.8 percent per year.
If the price factor was excluded, purchasing power in the first seven months increased by 8.74 percent – higher than the 8.72 percent recorded in the same period of last year.
In July alone, retail sales of goods and services was VND 415.1 trillion (USD 17.93 billion), up 1.7 percent from the previous month and up 12.4 percent year on year.
Of the figure, retail sales of goods accounted for 75 percent and increased by 13.4 percent year on year.
Retail sales of goods for the full seven-month period were up 12.5 percent year on year to VND 2.13 quadrillion, accounting for 76 percent of the total.
Among all sectors, purchases of educational and cultural products grew by 14.2 percent year on year, followed by food and beverage (12.8 percent), transportation (12.2 percent), home appliances (11.4 percent) and textiles and apparel (10.7 percent).
The localities with the highest purchasing power growth rates included Quang Ninh (18.9 percent), Binh Duong (17.2 percent), Thanh Hoa (14.9 percent), Hai Phong (14.7 percent), Bac Ninh (14.1 percent), HCM City (13.9 percent), Binh Dinh (13.6 percent) and Hanoi (13.5 percent).
Also in the first seven months of 2019, sales of accommodation and catering services rose 10 percent year on year to VND 337.5 trillion, accounting for 12 percent of the total.
Travel sales in the period achieved an estimate of VND 25.8 trillion, representing 0.9 percent of the total and climbing by 12.5 percent from a year ago.
Sales of other services in the period were estimated at VND 307.3 trillion, 11 percent of the total and representing an expansion of 6.7 percent compared to the same period in 2018.
Source: VNA