Dutch Retail Sales Growth Slows to 4-Month Low

Retail sales in the Netherlands increased by 2.9% year-on-year in June 2026, easing from an upwardly revised 3.4% in the previous month, marking the weakest growth in four months. Sales growth in the non-food sector moderated to 3.1% from 4.0% in May, as smaller gains in drugstores (4.5% vs. 7.2%), clothing (1.4% vs. 3.6%), DIY, kitchen, and flooring stores (2.2% vs. 3.2%), and recreational items (1.2% vs. 3.7%) outweighed a sharp increase in consumer electronics and white goods (6.3% vs. 1.0%). Additionally, sales declined in furniture and home furnishing stores (-0.5% vs. 1.5%) and shoe and leather goods stores (-4.6% vs. 2.7%). In contrast, turnover for food products grew by 2.5% from 2.1%, lifted by stronger supermarket sales (2.7% vs. 2.1%), while growth in specialty stores eased to 0.9% from 1.9%.

Retail sales in the Netherlands increased by 2.9% year-on-year in May 2026, slowing from a five-month high of 3.4% rise in the previous month. Sales growth in the food sector softened to 1.2% from 3.2% in April, as smaller gains in supermarkets (1.1% vs 3.8%) outweighed a rebound in specialty food stores (1.6% vs -0.9%). Online revenues also rose at a lesser extent (4.8% vs 5.9%), as growth at webshops slowed (3.5% vs 6.2%), while multichannel retailers saw a modest pickup (6.7% vs 5.5%). In contrast, turnover for non-food products accelerated (3.9% vs 3.5%), with drugstores (6.5% vs 9.6%) posting the largest increase in sales, followed by furniture and home furnishings stores (3.8% vs 0.1%) and clothing stores (3.7% vs 1.7%), which more than offset smaller rise in shoes and leather goods (0.7% vs -3.6%).

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.