Retail turnover 4.3 percent down

  • Shrink retail trade 5 percent over first ten months
  • Non-food sector 6 percent down
  • Clothes shops achieve higher turnover in October

According to the latest figures published by Statistics Netherlands, retail turnover declined by 4.3 percent in October 2009 relative to the same month last year. Just like in previous months, consumers were reluctant to buy expensive items. Retail turnover has been under pressure since early 2009. Initially, the economic recession had little impact on retail trade, but over the period January–October total retail turnover dropped by 5 percent.

The extra Saturday in October 2009 compared to October 2008 had a positive effect on retail trade turnover. After eliminiation of this effect, retail turnover was nearly 6 percent down. The trend observed in previous months thus continued. Turnover in the non-food sector declined by over 6 percent relative to the same period last year. DIY shops faced the most dramatic downturn by nearly 11 percent. Turnover realised by home furnishing and consumer electronics shops dropped, but within the non-food sector, clothes shops performed relatively well. Unlike in previous months, clothes shops (+1 percent) and textile supermarkets (nearly +3 percent) achieved higher turnovers.

Food, drink and tobacco sales were somewhat down on twelve months ago. Supermarket sales improved marginally, turnover realised by specialised food shops shrank by more than 5 percent.