The ministry recently said the total retail sales of consumer goods and services in January this year decreased by 6 per cent month on month (MoM) to more than VND 481.8 trillion ($20.4 billion) due to weaker demand as many commodities were purchased ahead of the Lunar New Year. However, it rose 13 per cent year on year (YoY) during the month.

For the first two months of the year, the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods and services rose by 13 per cent YoY to over VND 994.1 trillion, according to Vietnamese media reports.

Thailand’s Central Retail Corporation recently announced a capital increase of $1.45 billion in Vietnam, aiming to double the number of its stores to 600 in 57 of 63 provinces. Japan’s Aeon Co Ltd is also planning to treble the number of its shopping malls in the country to 16 by 2025.

By 2030, the Vietnamese domestic consumer market will outstrip Thailand, the United Kingdom and Germany, research from HSBC showed.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)