Higher supermarket turnover than in week before Christmas

24/03/2020 15:00

In the second week of March, supermarkets in the Netherlands recorded 35 percent higher turnover than in the same week in 2019. This means that supermarket turnover in Week 11 - from 9 to 15 March 2020 - was higher than in the week before Christmas, traditionally the week with the highest total turnover. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of an analysis of recent transaction data from a large number of supermarket chains.

Turnover at supermarkets, weekly
Jaar	Week	Supermarket turnover (2019=100)
2019	1	93.93
2019	2	93.89
2019	3	93.03
2019	4	96.53
2019	5	95.26
2019	6	94.7
2019	7	93.34
2019	8	93.87
2019	9	96.53
2019	10	97.41
2019	11	96.19
2019	12	97
2019	13	97.66
2019	14	98.18
2019	15	100.29
2019	16	109.85
2019	17	97.54
2019	18	99.48
2019	19	102.48
2019	20	99.37
2019	21	101.98
2019	22	105.55
2019	23	103.51
2019	24	104.1
2019	25	104.56
2019	26	108.62
2019	27	103.8
2019	28	99.44
2019	29	97.44
2019	30	102.07
2019	31	93.5
2019	32	94.9
2019	33	96.24
2019	34	102.04
2019	35	104.1
2019	36	100.29
2019	37	96.58
2019	38	98.65
2019	39	99.95
2019	40	99.63
2019	41	98.42
2019	42	96.93
2019	43	100.41
2019	44	104.12
2019	45	100.84
2019	46	101.26
2019	47	100.7
2019	48	101.41
2019	49	103.36
2019	50	104.75
2019	51	116.46
2019	52	107.87
2020	1	106.28
2020	2	99.41
2020	3	97.13
2020	4	100.18
2020	5	99.93
2020	6	100.01
2020	7	98.85
2020	8	99.17
2020	9	105.34
2020	10	103.25
2020	11	129.85

Turnover at supermarkets, weekly
Jaar	Week	Supermarket turnover (2019=100)
2019	1	93.93
2019	2	93.89
2019	3	93.03
2019	4	96.53
2019	5	95.26
2019	6	94.7
2019	7	93.34
2019	8	93.87
2019	9	96.53
2019	10	97.41
2019	11	96.19
2019	12	97
2019	13	97.66
2019	14	98.18
2019	15	100.29
2019	16	109.85
2019	17	97.54
2019	18	99.48
2019	19	102.48
2019	20	99.37
2019	21	101.98
2019	22	105.55
2019	23	103.51
2019	24	104.1
2019	25	104.56
2019	26	108.62
2019	27	103.8
2019	28	99.44
2019	29	97.44
2019	30	102.07
2019	31	93.5
2019	32	94.9
2019	33	96.24
2019	34	102.04
2019	35	104.1
2019	36	100.29
2019	37	96.58
2019	38	98.65
2019	39	99.95
2019	40	99.63
2019	41	98.42
2019	42	96.93
2019	43	100.41
2019	44	104.12
2019	45	100.84
2019	46	101.26
2019	47	100.7
2019	48	101.41
2019	49	103.36
2019	50	104.75
2019	51	116.46
2019	52	107.87
2020	1	106.28
2020	2	99.41
2020	3	97.13
2020	4	100.18
2020	5	99.93
2020	6	100.01
2020	7	98.85
2020	8	99.17
2020	9	105.34
2020	10	103.25
2020	11	129.85

Sharpest turnover rise in shelf-stable products

In terms of percentage increase, sales of shelf-stable products such as canned goods, frozen vegetables, rice and pasta were up in particular. The sharpest increase recorded among all food products was in rice at over 150 percent, i.e. 2.5 times as high as usual.
Sales of canned vegetables as well as frozen vegetables were up by over 115 percent. By comparison, sales of fresh vegetables rose as well, but much less steeply, by nearly 30 percent.

Turnover growth in food products, 9 to 15 March 2020
Productgroep	Turnover growth (year-on-year % change)
Rice	153.5
Flour and other cereals	121.8
Canned vegetables	118.6
Frozen vegetables	116.2
Canned fish and seafood	112.1
Pasta products and couscous	98.1
Baby food	87.1
Sugar	82.6
Other cereals	81.7
Preserved fruit and fruit-based products	76.7

Supermarkts, total	35.0

Turnover growth in food products, 9 to 15 March 2020
Productgroep	Turnover growth (year-on-year % change)
Rice	153.5
Flour and other cereals	121.8
Canned vegetables	118.6
Frozen vegetables	116.2
Canned fish and seafood	112.1
Pasta products and couscous	98.1
Baby food	87.1
Sugar	82.6
Other cereals	81.7
Preserved fruit and fruit-based products	76.7

Supermarkts, total	35.0

Peak in rice sales

Sales of rice started to increase as of the last week of February. The growth initially levelled off in the first week of March but surged again in the second week of March.
Rice is included in the product group bread and cereals, as is pasta. This is the product group (among food products) which showed the highest increase in turnover at supermarkets in the second week of March.

Rice turnover, weekly changes, 2020
Week	Rice turnover increase (year-on-year % change)
1	7.4
2	16.5
3	13.6
4	16.3
5	11.6
6	18.9
7	19.1
8	10.9
9	54.1
10	32.4
11	153.5

Rice turnover, weekly changes, 2020
Week	Rice turnover increase (year-on-year % change)
1	7.4
2	16.5
3	13.6
4	16.3
5	11.6
6	18.9
7	19.1
8	10.9
9	54.1
10	32.4
11	153.5

Run on hand soap and toilet paper

Surging demand for toilet paper and hand soap is also reflected in the supermarket turnover data. Relative to the same period last year, turnover of hand soap increased five-fold. Hand soap turnover was already rising sharply in the last week of February and the first week of March. The volume of toilet paper sales in the second week of March was more than double the volume in the same week one year previously. This product normally shows fairly stable turnover figures.
In addition, turnover of pharmaceutical products such as non-prescribed medication was up by 150 percent year-on-year in the second week of March.

Toilet paper and hand soap turnover, weekly
Jaar	Week	Toilet paper (2019=100)	Hand soap (2019=100)
2019	1	112.61	97.53
2019	2	94.27	122.48
2019	3	97.62	119.48
2019	4	96.54	84.41
2019	5	93.35	77.6
2019	6	92.06	87.71
2019	7	96.84	93.41
2019	8	89.94	78.66
2019	9	91.09	76.48
2019	10	97	93.39
2019	11	96.36	97.02
2019	12	93.65	83.39
2019	13	91.37	82.8
2019	14	98.5	85.22
2019	15	89.83	83.28
2019	16	90.18	86.77
2019	17	117.39	90.95
2019	18	105.12	103.24
2019	19	113.83	111.4
2019	20	101.88	113.81
2019	21	104.12	92.3
2019	22	93	124.02
2019	23	102.85	92.69
2019	24	96.31	117.31
2019	25	101.62	109.59
2019	26	110.95	101.61
2019	27	102.34	122.96
2019	28	104.09	102.13
2019	29	104.48	148.46
2019	30	92.01	94.92
2019	31	98.36	108.61
2019	32	95.66	112.16
2019	33	97.24	95.36
2019	34	98.35	128.71
2019	35	99.51	105.36
2019	36	109.12	106.77
2019	37	97.13	101.69
2019	38	96.38	124.03
2019	39	103.65	104.92
2019	40	106.26	115.99
2019	41	96.9	84.97
2019	42	107.25	112.78
2019	43	99.07	105.14
2019	44	113.75	102.5
2019	45	103.99	84.4
2019	46	105.29	92.03
2019	47	97.85	104.62
2019	48	104.28	91.25
2019	49	106.31	77.32
2019	50	112.84	90.25
2019	51	95.62	93.52
2019	52	83.98	82.6
2020	1	105.58	98.93
2020	2	114.11	117.37
2020	3	110.88	81.31
2020	4	108.51	133.71
2020	5	98.31	97.82
2020	6	99.52	110.96
2020	7	98.64	84.42
2020	8	90.76	117.01
2020	9	117.21	369.18
2020	10	128.89	371.75
2020	11	236.08	507.83

Toilet paper and hand soap turnover, weekly
Jaar	Week	Toilet paper (2019=100)	Hand soap (2019=100)
2019	1	112.61	97.53
2019	2	94.27	122.48
2019	3	97.62	119.48
2019	4	96.54	84.41
2019	5	93.35	77.6
2019	6	92.06	87.71
2019	7	96.84	93.41
2019	8	89.94	78.66
2019	9	91.09	76.48
2019	10	97	93.39
2019	11	96.36	97.02
2019	12	93.65	83.39
2019	13	91.37	82.8
2019	14	98.5	85.22
2019	15	89.83	83.28
2019	16	90.18	86.77
2019	17	117.39	90.95
2019	18	105.12	103.24
2019	19	113.83	111.4
2019	20	101.88	113.81
2019	21	104.12	92.3
2019	22	93	124.02
2019	23	102.85	92.69
2019	24	96.31	117.31
2019	25	101.62	109.59
2019	26	110.95	101.61
2019	27	102.34	122.96
2019	28	104.09	102.13
2019	29	104.48	148.46
2019	30	92.01	94.92
2019	31	98.36	108.61
2019	32	95.66	112.16
2019	33	97.24	95.36
2019	34	98.35	128.71
2019	35	99.51	105.36
2019	36	109.12	106.77
2019	37	97.13	101.69
2019	38	96.38	124.03
2019	39	103.65	104.92
2019	40	106.26	115.99
2019	41	96.9	84.97
2019	42	107.25	112.78
2019	43	99.07	105.14
2019	44	113.75	102.5
2019	45	103.99	84.4
2019	46	105.29	92.03
2019	47	97.85	104.62
2019	48	104.28	91.25
2019	49	106.31	77.32
2019	50	112.84	90.25
2019	51	95.62	93.52
2019	52	83.98	82.6
2020	1	105.58	98.93
2020	2	114.11	117.37
2020	3	110.88	81.31
2020	4	108.51	133.71
2020	5	98.31	97.82
2020	6	99.52	110.96
2020	7	98.64	84.42
2020	8	90.76	117.01
2020	9	117.21	369.18
2020	10	128.89	371.75
2020	11	236.08	507.83