Retail turnover marginally down

• Marginal turnover growth retail sector after correction for shopping days
• Lower turnover for food and non-food shops
• Firm growth online retail sales

Dutch retailers faced 1.7 percent turnover loss in October 2010 from October 2009. Retail prices were 1.3 percent higher, volume shrank by 3.0 percent. In October 2010, the negative effect of the unfavourable shopping-day pattern on  retail turnover was more noticeable than in October 2009. According to Statistics Netherlands, turnover growth was approximately 1 percent, if the effects of shopping days are eliminated.

Non-food shop sales were nearly 4 percent down in October on October 2009. The volume of sales declined, prices hardly changed. Within the non-food sector, home furnishing shops and clothes shops faced loss of turnover, whereas clothes shops achieved considerable turnover growth in September.

Food, drinks and tobacco shops reported 1 percent turnover loss in October compared to October last year. This is mainly due to a downturn in sales by nearly 4 percent in specialised food, drinks and tobacco shops. Supermarket sales remained at the same level.
With more than 11 percent, online sales of retail products showed the most substantial growth rate from one year previously within the retail sector. Throughout the year, online retailers have achieved higher growth figures than shop retailers.