Vietnam’s retail sales jump 10% in 2016

According to GSO, the retail sales of goods, which account for 76% of total sales, reached US$118.9 billion, up 10.2% from last year.

The revenue in some sectors saw a handsome increase. Food and food products, for instance, surged 13% year-on-year, household appliances rose 12%, garments and textiles went up 11% and transport services increased by 6 percent. However, the sales of educational and cultural products barely grew at 2%.

The rise – it was 9.8% growth in 2015 – reflects an improvement in both domestic consumption capacity and the lives of people, said Nguyen Bich Lam, head of GSO.

The retail sales of accommodation, restaurant and catering services reached approximately US$18.4 billion, which accounts for 12% of the total revenue, posting an 11% year-on-year rise. This is mainly thanks to effective tourism policies that led to a significant increase in the number of tourists in later months of 2016.

Localities that posted high accommodation, restaurant and catering retail sales include the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Binh Thuan at 18% and 17%, respectively; the northern city of Hai Phong (16%), the capital (14%) and HCM City (9%).

Last year, revenue from tourism services also saw a rise of 12% to US$1.51 billion, with some regions recording strong growth, such as the northern Quang Ninh province (14%), the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau (14%) and Hanoi and HCM City at 11% each.

The sales of other services in 2016 reached an estimated US$18 billion, making up 11.4% of total revenue and surging 9.3% compared to a year ago.

The Association of Vietnam Retailers has forecast that Vietnam’s retail turnover would likely rise to US$179 billion by 2020.