According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the total retail sale value of goods and services was estimated at VND371.5 trillion (US$15.97 billion) in July, up 1.6% over the previous month and up 13.3% over the same period in 2017.
Thus, the total retail sale value of goods and services in the first seven months of this year climbed to VND2,490 trillion (US$107.07 billion), an increase of 11.1% over the corresponding period last year.
Of which, the retail sale value of goods was reported at VND1,870 trillion (US$80.41 billion), accounting for 75.2% of the total retail sale revenue and up 11.7% compared to the same period in 2017.
The GSO reported that the consumption demand mainly focused on essential goods, including food and foodstuffs, with an annual increase of 12.6%, while apparels saw an annual rise of 12.4%, household equipment with an annual increase of 12.3% and cultural-educational products, up 10.3%.
Several localities posted high retail sale growth of over 12% including Thai Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City, Thanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Binh Dinh, Bac Giang, Hanoi and Nam Dinh.