Retail turnover over 7 percent up in October

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Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that in October 2020 the Dutch retail sector recorded 7.1 percent year-on-year turnover growth. The volume of sales rose by 4.7 percent. Turnover was up in both the food sector and the non-food sector. Furthermore, online sales increased by 48.1 percent.

Retail turnover data have been adjusted for changes in the shopping-day pattern. Retail sales tend to vary from one day to the next. If the shopping-day pattern is not taken into account, retail turnover in October 2020 was 8.8 percent higher than in the same month last year.

Turnover retail sector* (adjusted for shopping days)
 monthchange (year-on-year % change)
2015January1.4
2015February2.4
2015March1.4
2015April1.6
2015May1.4
2015June4
2015July2.9
2015August1
2015September5
2015October2.4
2015November1.1
2015December2.8
2016January1.5
2016February2.2
2016March1.5
2016April0.8
2016May3.5
2016June1.4
2016July2.8
2016August2.1
2016September0.4
2016October5.2
2016November5
2016December2.3
2017January5
2017February2.9
2017March4.6
2017April4.3
2017May3.8
2017June4.5
2017July4.5
2017August4.5
2017September5.8
2017October1.5
2017November5.4
2017December3.7
2018January3.6
2018February3
2018March1.7
2018April5.7
2018May3.7
2018June3.2
2018July3.8
2018August3.5
2018September1.9
2018October3.4
2018November4.2
2018December2.6
2019January1.5
2019February4.1
2019March4.1
2019April1.9
2019May2.6
2019June3.1
2019July3
2019August2.9
2019September4.4
2019October3.6
2019November2.4
2019December5.2
2020January3.6
2020February5
2020March3.3
2020April-1
2020May8.7
2020June10.4
2020July9.5
2020August10.4
2020September7.5
2020October7.1
*excluding petrol stations and pharmacies

Turnover in non-food sector 1.5 percent higher

In October, turnover in the non-food sector was up by 1.5 percent year-on-year. The volume of sales (adjusted for price changes) fell by 0.5 percent. 

Shops selling DIY products, kitchens and flooring achieved the highest turnover growth in October. Turnover growth by shops selling furniture and home furnishings, shops selling recreational goods and shops selling consumer electronics and white goods was somewhat smaller. Turnover by shops selling personal care products was up as well.

After a small upturn in the previous months, shops selling footwear and leather products and clothes shops again experienced sharp declines in turnover in October. In 2020, turnover by clothes shops was not higher in any of the months compared to the same month in 2019.

Over 6 percent more turnover for shops selling food

In October 2020, shops selling food, beverages and tobacco achieved 6.3 percent more turnover than in the same month last year. The volume of sales increased by 3.7 percent. Supermarkets saw year-on-year turnover growth of 6.0 percent. At 8.1 percent, the turnover increase of specialist shops was well over 5 percent for the sixth month in a row.

Turnover branches retail sector* (adjusted for shopping days)
 October 20 (year-on-year % change)September 2020 (year-on-year % change)
Total food6.35.5
Specialist shops8.15.4
Supermarkets65.5
Total non-food1.56
DIY products, kitchens, flooring23.420.4
Furniture and household articles13.718.1
Consumer electronics9.44.3
Recreational goods6.911.2
Personal care products3.51.6
Shoes and leather products-17-10.8
Clothes-18.9-7.1
* excluding petrol stations and pharmacies

Online turnover over 48 percent higher

In October 2020, online shops saw their turnover go up by 48.1 percent relative to October 2019. Web shops recorded a turnover increase of 42.5 percent; their core activity is selling goods and services over the Internet. Multichannelers (retailers selling goods and services over the Internet as a side activity) achieved 55.9 percent higher turnover in online sales.