Total retail sales of consumer goods and services in Vietnam reached an estimated VND5,059.8 trillion (US$219.53 billion) in 2020, up 2.6% against last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). 

Vietnam's consumer spending rises despite Covid-19. Photo: Pham Hung.

“Such growth is the lowest during the past 10 years, but remains a positive result for Vietnam as the country continues to pursue the dual target of both containing the pandemic and boosting economic recovery,” stated the GSO in its monthly-report.

While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused severe impacts on the global economy, the fact that Vietnam has effectively contained the pandemic is seen as a major factor to boost retail sales during final months of the year, noted the GSO.

In the fourth quarter, revenue from retail sales and services stood at VND1,387.6 trillion (US$60.2 billion), up 6.4% quarter-on-quarter and 8% year-on-year.

On breaking down, retail sales of goods in 2020 gained around VND3,996.9 trillion (US$172.76 billion), accounting for 79% of the total and increasing by 6.8% over the similar period last year. 

Estimated sales of accommodation and catering services in this year attained VND510.4 trillion (US$22.14 billion), accounting for 10.1% of the total and down 13% from the same period last year. 

Sales of tours achieved an estimate of VND17.9 trillion (US$776.8 million), making up 0.3% of the total and plunging by 59.5% year-on-year.

Sales of other services during this period were estimated at VND534.6 trillion (US$23.2 billion), representing 10.6% of the total and decreasing by 4% against the comparable period in 2019.