In December, turnover in the non-food sector was up by 21.5 per cent YoY. The volume of sales (adjusted for price changes) grew by 11.1 per cent compared to the same month one year previously. On December 19, 2021, another strict lockdown was imposed to prevent coronavirus infections. Many non-food shops then had to close their doors. Shops selling products including footwear, leather products, and clothes saw YoY turnover growth in December, according to a press release by the CBS.

In December, online turnover was down by 11.1 per cent YoY. Web shops recorded a turnover decrease of 7.7 per cent; their core activity is selling goods and services over the internet. Multi-channel retailers (retailers selling goods and services over the internet as a side activity) achieved 15.2 per cent lower turnover in online sales.

In 2022, adjusted for shopping days, retail sales increased by 6.7 per cent relative to 2021. This is the highest growth since the series of adjusted figures started in 2005. However, the volume of sales was 0.6 per cent lower. Turnover of non-food shops grew by 12.2 per cent. Online turnover was 7.6 per cent lower than in 2021.

The substantial growth in 2022 is partly related to the coronavirus measures in 2021. From January to the end of April and from December 19 to mid-January 2022, a hard lockdown applied in the Netherlands, which mainly affected non-food shops. In addition, inflation reached a record high in 2022 at an average of 10.0 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)