Modest rise in retail turnover

• Turnover slightly higher for non-food shops
• Shopping-day pattern tempers turnover in food shops

According to figures released today by Statistics Netherlands, retail turnover was 1.5 percent higher in January 2011 than in the same month last year. Prices were 2.0 percent higher, while the volume of retail sales fell by 0.4 percent.

Dutch retailers suffered the negative effects of a less favourable shopping-day pattern in January this year than in the same month last year. After correction for this effect, turnover growth reached around 3 percent again.

Non-food shops realised slightly higher turnover levels in January. Turnover was just over 1 percent higher than twelve months previously. Shops selling clothes and those selling consumer electronics realised a substantially higher turnover. Turnover of drugstores and textile supermarkets, on the other hand, was much lower than twelve months previously.

Retailers selling food, drinks and tobacco booked nearly 2 percent less turnover in January than twelve months previously. This was caused mainly by the unfavourable pattern of shopping days. If this effect is discounted, turnover would have grown by 1 percent in this sector. The increase is then caused entirely by higher prices.