Dutch Retail Sales Growth Hits 5-Month Peak

2026-06-01 04:53 By Joshua Ferrer 1 min. read

Retail sales in the Netherlands grew by 3.4% year-on-year in April 2026, following an upwardly revised 3.2% rise in the previous month.

The latest reading marked the fastest increase in retail activity since last November, driven by higher sales of food products (3.2% vs. 2.5% in March), particularly in supermarkets (3.8% vs. 2.9%), which more than offset weaker revenues at specialty food stores (-0.9% vs. 0.2%).

Additionally, sales growth in the non-food sector remained steady at 3.5%, supported mainly by increased turnover in drugstores (9.6% vs 3.1%), recreational items (8.6% vs 3.6%), and consumer electronics and white goods (4.3% vs 0.6%).

In contrast, trade activity declined further for shoes and leather goods (-3.6% vs -2%), while it rose at a lesser extent for furniture and home furnishings (0.1% vs 5.4%) and clothing (1.7% vs 2.1%).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales were unchanged in April, after an upwardly revised 1.8% gain in March.



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Dutch Retail Sales Growth Hits 5-Month Peak
Retail sales in the Netherlands grew by 3.4% year-on-year in April 2026, following an upwardly revised 3.2% rise in the previous month. The latest reading marked the fastest increase in retail activity since last November, driven by higher sales of food products (3.2% vs. 2.5% in March), particularly in supermarkets (3.8% vs. 2.9%), which more than offset weaker revenues at specialty food stores (-0.9% vs. 0.2%). Additionally, sales growth in the non-food sector remained steady at 3.5%, supported mainly by increased turnover in drugstores (9.6% vs 3.1%), recreational items (8.6% vs 3.6%), and consumer electronics and white goods (4.3% vs 0.6%). In contrast, trade activity declined further for shoes and leather goods (-3.6% vs -2%), while it rose at a lesser extent for furniture and home furnishings (0.1% vs 5.4%) and clothing (1.7% vs 2.1%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales were unchanged in April, after an upwardly revised 1.8% gain in March.
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