According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the total retail sales of goods and services reached US$73.121 billion, rising by 9.8% over the same period last year, or 8.3% if inflation is excluded.

By comparison, the growth rates of total retail sales were 5.7%, 4.9% and 6.5% in the same period for 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Retail sales of goods contributed 75% of the total retail sales, with a value of US$55.532 billion, increasing by 10.6%. Retail sales of accommodation, restaurant and catering services each posted growth of between 5.9% and 9.7%.

However, retail sales in the tourism sector declined 6.1% over the same period last year, partly due to poor service quality.

Purchasing power was one of the indicators which reflected the macroeconomic recoveries in the first half of this year.

This was a result of the government's policies which aimed to stabilise and restore the nation's economic growth, even though the global economy had not shown a stable recovery and had instead continued to suffer financial chaos, currency fluctuations and plunging commodity prices.

According to GSO's General Director Nguyen Bich Lam, the purchasing power recovered thanks to the low consumer price index (CPI), reported at 0.55% – the lowest level achieved over the past 14 years. Consumers gained benefits from the quantity of goods and services controlled by the low CPI .

Lam pointed out that in Vietnam, although inflation was controlled at a low level, aggregated demand remained at a high level.