Online retail turnover increased by over 92 percent

Online sales were 92.1 percent higher in January than in the same month a year earlier. Since the start of the publication of Internet sales by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in January 2014, the growth has not been so strong. The cause can be guessed: the shops were closed.

Web shops (internet sales as their main activity) have increased turnover by 65.9 percent. The online turnover of shops whose sales via the internet are normally a secondary activity (multi-channelers) grew by 128.7 percent.

Retail turnover almost 6 percent down in January

It was a bad month for offline trade. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports for January 2021 that the Dutch retail sector recorded 5.9 percent year-on-year turnover decline. The volume of sales went down by 8 percent. The measures taken to curb the spread of coronavirus led to the largest turnover decline ever recorded in the non-food sector. On the other hand, turnover in the food sector was up relative to January 2020. 

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 January 2021 was 7.8 percent lower than in the same month last year.

Turnover in non-food sector almost 38 percent lower

In January, turnover in the non-food sector showed an unprecedented contraction of 37.7 percent year-on-year. This is the largest turnover decline (adjusted for shopping days) since the beginning of publication in January 2005. The volume of sales (adjusted for price changes) fell by 39.3 percent compared to the same month last year.

 

[Source: CBS]