Vietnam retail sales plunged 33.7 per cent year-on-year in August as the country faced stricter restrictions due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

According to the General Statistics Office, August’s retail sales plunged 10.5 per cent compared to July. In the first eight months of this year, revenue from retail trade and service declined 4.7 per cent year on year, reaching US$133.43 billion. 

The Covid-19 situation in the country has seen varying degrees of lockdown in Vietnam’s major cities including Hanoi and HCMC since June. 

In HCMC, retail revenue is estimated to reach US$1.5 billion, falling 15.9 per cent month on month. The e-commerce sector, which had been expected to flourish as demand soared, recorded negative growth due to the restriction of delivery services under the Prime Minister’s Directive No.16. 

Restaurants – including online ordering with delivery or pickup – have been banned from trading for nearly two months in Ho Chi Minh City.