The opening six months of the year saw retail sales reach a figure of VND1,895,600 billion, accounting for 79.6% of total turnover and representing an annual boost of 3.4%, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office.

The first half of this year sees retail sales surge by 3.4% over the same period last year 

Most notably, online shopping has become increasingly popular, especially when social distancing measures were put in place in order to meet people’s growing demands, of which, food and foodstuff increased by 7%, whilst household appliances, tools and equipment went up by 5%.

A number of localities enjoyed a fair increase in retail sales of goods, including Hai Phong by 10.4%, Ho Chi Minh City with 10.1%; Hanoi by 9.9%, Dong Nai with 8.4%, Binh Dinh by 4.3%, Ba Ria - Vung Tau with 3%, and Thanh Hoa by 0.9%.

Elsewhere, revenue from accommodation and catering services was estimated to stand at VND234,700 billion, representing 9.9% of the total whilst being a drop of 18.1% on-year, of which the second quarter of the year saw a severe drop of 26.1% due to the impact of social distancing measures.