Hanoi (VNA) – Although 2023 isforecast to see many difficulties, experts expect this is a recovery year ofthe retail sector after COVID-19 pandemic as there are many signs showing the return of investors andhigher demands.

According to the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT), the scale of the Vietnamese retail market is 142 billion USD,which is expected to reach 350 billion USD in 2025, with contributions of 59%to total GDP.

Last year, the total revenue from retailsales of goods and services rose 21%, exceeding the target of 8%.

A survey by Vietnam Report showed that over53.8% of total retail firms enjoyed similar and higher business resultscompared to the pre-pandemic level.

Experts held that growth of retail sales isbeing supported by rise in income and the strong recovery of the tourism sectoras well as relevant sectors such as transport and accommodations, as well asthe effectiveness of inflation control measures.

Particularly, from now to the Lunar NewYear (Tet) Festival, which falls in late January, consumers are predicted toloosen their wallet dramatically.

At the same time, there are signs ofvibrant retail activities as many foreign investors have announced their plansto return after COVID-19.

Recently, Thailand’s Central Retail saidthat it will pump additional 20 trillion VND (852.87 million USD) into theVietnamese market in the next five years, pushing its investments in Vietnam inthe 2022-2026 period to 65 trillion VND. With this plan, Central Retail willraise their coverage from 40 localities currently to 55.

Meanwhile, Japanese giant retailer Aeon Group plans to buildanother megamall in Hanoi, raising its total trade centres in Vietnam to 20.

Phung Trung Kien, Founder of VietnamHoldings Inc., said that retail businesses will see good growth in early 2023,especially those trading consumer goods thanks to the Lunar New Year Festival.

In 2023, four trade centres are scheduledto be launched - Central Premium plaza, Vincom Megamall Grand Park, SunriseCity Central and Emart 2 with total area of over 116,000 sq.m.

Many experts predicted that this year,retailers will expand their selling channels, bringing their products todifferent trading platforms to optimise online retail channels.

MoIT Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said thatin the time to come, the ministry will coordinate with other ministries andlocalities to keep a close eye on the developments of the market, ensuring thesupply of commodities, especially during Tet. At the same time, it will apply measuresto control consumer price index (CPI), he said./.