Vietnam’s retail sales recover after two years of 'underperformance'

The industry grew by 1.1% and 1.3% in November and December last year.

Vietnam’s retail sales have shown the first signs of recovery after it grew by 1.1% and 1.3% in November and December 2021, respectively, Fitch Solutions reported.

The industry has “underperformed” over the past two years even as it showed a positive growth, resulting from the low base effect.

“As such, both these two months (November and December 2021) are the first months since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic to not have as low a base effect impacting growth, meaning that retail sales are beginning to post real growth,” the report read in part.

Fitch added Vietnam’s retail could sustain this growth should the government continue easing restrictions in 2022.

It also noted consumer recovery remains hinged on Vietnam’s vaccination drive.

At present, 49 out of 63 cities in Vietnam have reported that more than 90% of its population have been fully vaccinated.

“This bodes well for consumer spending over 2022, as when new deaths and new cases decouple in the next wave of restrictions, the government will gradually ease restrictions over the year,” it said.