Dutch Retail Sales Growth Slows to 4-Month Low

Retail sales in the Netherlands rose by 2.7% year-on-year in September 2026, slowing from an upwardly revised and more than one-year high of 3.8% in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since February, as food sales declined to 0.5% from 1% gain in August. Supermarket sales slipped to 1% from a 1% increase, while specialty store sales accelerated to 3.1% from 1.2%. Non-food sales growth also moderated to 4.6% from 5.4%, reflecting weaker gains in clothing (1.1% vs 4.2%) and furniture and home furnishings (-0.3% vs 7%). In contrast, sales of recreational goods accelerated to 7.9% from 6.2%, while growth in consumer electronics and white goods climbed to 4% from 0.4%, and sales of DIY products, kitchens and flooring rose to 3.3% from 2.1%. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales declined by 0.1%, reversing an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in August.

Retail sales in the Netherlands increased by 3.5% year-on-year in August 2026, accelerating from a downwardly revised 2.5% increase in July and marking the strongest growth since November 2025. The acceleration was driven primarily by the non-food sector, where turnover rose (5.0% vs 3.3% in July). Furniture and household articles recorded particularly strong growth (7.1% vs 4.1%). Supermarket turnover also accelerated (0.4% vs 0.0%). Meanwhile, growth slowed in food and beverage retailers (0.9% vs. 1.0%), specialist shops (1.0% vs 1.1%), clothing (2.5% vs 4.2%), DIY products, kitchens and flooring (1.9% vs 3.3%), personal care products (0.9% vs 6.9%) and consumer electronics (0.7% vs 5.4%). Shoes and leather products were the only category to record a decline, with turnover falling 1.1% after rising 0.8% in July. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity grew by 0.8% in August, edging up from a 0.4% increase in the previous month.

Retail sales in the Netherlands rose by 2.8% year-on-year in July 2026, marking the softest growth since February and easing from a 2.9% increase in the previous month. Food and beverage retailers posted 1.5% revenue growth, down from 2.3% in June as smaller gains in supermarkets (1.6% vs 2.6%) more than offset an improvement at specialty stores (0.7% vs 0.4%). Online revenues also rose at a lesser extent (3.8% vs 7.5%), with all major online retailers recording slower sales growth than a year ago. Meanwhile, turnover in the non-food sector increased further (3.6% vs 3.3%), led by drugstores (12.5% vs 7.4%) and consumer electronics and white goods (5.5% vs 5.8%), while furniture and home furnishings (2.6% vs -0.8%) and shoes and leather goods (0.6% vs -4.7%) also rebounded. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity grew by 0.6% in July, recovering from a 0.1% fall in the preceding period.