Viet Nam’s retail sales of goods and services rose to 10.2 per cent to around US$156.7 billion in 2016, data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) has revealed.

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

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

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

The retail sales of accommodation, restaurant and catering services reached approximately $18.4 billion, which accounts for 12 per cent of the total revenue, posting an 11 per cent 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 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively; the northern city of Hai Phong (16 per cent), the capital (14 per cent) and HCM City (9 per cent).

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

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

The Association of Viet Nam Retailers has forecast that Viet Nam’s retail turnover would likely rise to $179 billion by 2020. — VNS