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In contrast to the drop in exports, retail sales and service revenues posted a year-on-year increase of 26 percent to pass VND1,009 trillion in the first eight months of the year.
The General Statistics Office has also reported that tourist services recorded the highest growth, reaching 35.4 percent, followed by trade at 27.3 percent.
The retail market has maintained its high level of growth for several months now thanks to the Government’s stimulus packages, competitive prices and the “Vietnamese people use Vietnamese goods” programme.
Large businesses and supermarkets have promoted sales campaigns and reduced the prices of their goods to make them comparable or even lower than prices at the markets.
The Big C supermarket said that it will cut the prices of 500 items from September 1-29 to mark the Children’s Autumn Festival, which falls on September 22 this year, while Maximark will reduce the prices of around 300 items, mainly milk, cooking oil and beverages by 5-30 percent.
Despite its small scale, the domestic retail market remains attractive to foreign investors due to the lack of competitiveness, the publics increasing purchasing power and high ranking in the retail development index, say economists.
The country’s retail sector is predicted to earn around VND1,440 trillion this year.
