Dutch supermarkets posted a 2.4% increase in turnover in August 2019, compared to the same month the previous year, with volume remaining unchanged year-on-year.
This is according to the latest retail market data from Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), the official Dutch statistics institute.
Specialty Stores
The 'Total Food' category saw a 2% gain year-on-year, according to CBS, due to a slight decline in turnover among specialty stores (-0.7%).
Overall, however, growth accelerated among food stores compared to the preceding month (July 2019), when the Total Food category saw turnover grow by 1.3%, with supermarkets up 1.6% and specialty stores down 0.9%.
The non-food stores category also posted a year-on-year growth in turnover in August of 2%; however volume was down 0.5% on the same month the previous year, CBS reported.
Non-Food Performers
For the third month in a row, DIY/kitchens/floors stores saw the biggest increase in turnover in the period (+10%), while furniture and home furnishings stores were up 8.4%. Drugstores saw a marginal increase in sales, of 0.2%, compared to a 0.5% decline in July 2019.
At the same time, however, consumer electronics/white goods stores saw an accelerated decline in turnover, of -3.7% (compared to -3.5% in July); as did clothing stores, which were down 4.7% (compared to -1.3% in July). Shoes and leather goods saw a decline of 5.8% in the period, down from a 0.1% increase in July.
Online Growth
One factor that is influencing non-food performance is the rise in online, with online sales 13.9% higher in August than in the same month the previous year.
Among retailers for which online sales are a secondary activity (multichannel retailers), the online component grew 19.5%, while among pure 'web shops', turnover was 10.5% higher.
Overall, the retail trade saw turnover up 3% in August, compared to the same month the previous year, while volumes were up 0.8%.
The turnover figures were adjusted for the composition of shopping days in August, CBS added. Without this correction, retail sales were 3.9% higher than in August 2018.
A separate study by CBS found that consumer confidence among Dutch consumers was flat in the month of August, while consumer perceptions about the economic climate were down by one point.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
