Thegrowth rate was lower than the growth rate of 7.8 percent in the first fourmonths of 2016, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.
GSO’sdomestic trade expert Vu Manh Ha said purchasing power of the people decreasedin the first four months, making growth rate of total retail sales and servicesrevenue in this period lower than the growth rate in the same period of 2016.
Meanwhile,the average consumer price index (CPI) growth rate for the first four months ofthis year at 4.8 percent was higher than the rate of 1.48 percent for thecorrespondent time of 2016. That was one of the reasons for lower growth ratein total retail sales and services revenue during the four-month period.
However, reduction in purchasing power did not affect the retail sector. Retailsales and services revenue of this sector gained a year-on-year increase of 9.7percent to 955.8 trillion VND.
Revenueof accommodation and catering services in the first four months surged 11.3 percentyear-on-year to 153.4 trillion VND.
Revenueof the tourism and travel sector, accounting for 0.8 percent of total revenue,had the lowest growth rate at 6.3 percent year-on-year in the first four monthsof 2017.-VNA