Retail sales in the Netherlands increased 4.3 percent year-on-year in February 2019, the most since November, accelerating from an upwardly revised 1.8 percent growth in the previous month. Sales of non-food products rebounded strongly (5.7 percent vs -0.2 percent in January), particularly clothing (4.2 percent vs -5.4 percent), shoes & leather goods (5.7 percent vs -1.5 percent); consumer electronics (2.5 percent vs -1.6 percent); recreational goods (1.9 percent vs -1.2 percent); and drugstores (1.3 percent vs -1 percent). In addition, sales rose more for: do-it-yourself items, kitchens, floors (9.8 percent vs 6.9 percent), and furniture, home furnishings (7.2 percent vs 2.3 percent). Meanwhile, sales of food rose at softer pace (1.0 percent vs 1.8 percent). Retail Sales YoY in Netherlands averaged 1.18 percent from 2005 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 9.30 percent in May of 2006 and a record low of -6.40 percent in August of 2009.
Retail Sales YoY in Netherlands is expected to be 1.60 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales YoY in Netherlands to stand at 2.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Netherlands Retail Sales YoY is projected to trend around 2.50 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.