The retail trade achieved 7 percent more turnover in the fourth quarter of last year than in the same period in 2021 due to higher prices. The stores sold fewer products. It is the third quarter in a row that retail sales were lower than in the same quarters a year earlier.
Retail turnover was higher not only in the fourth, but also in the first three quarters of 2022 compared to a year earlier. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on Friday. From the second quarter, stores sold less compared to a year earlier. The increase in turnover was due to higher prices from that quarter onwards.
Turnover in the non-food sector increased by 9 percent, mainly due to higher prices. The volume of sales in the non-food sector remained virtually unchanged. Turnover in the food sector increased by 7 percent compared to a year earlier, but the volume of sales fell by 5 percent. Supermarkets and specialist shops in particular achieved higher turnover.
In the non-food sector, volume fell, despite an increase in turnover. This was strongest in furniture stores. Drugstores and do-it-yourself stores also had to contend with a declining number of sales, while turnover increased. The volume of sales did not fall in all branches. At clothing and shoe stores, both turnover and volume of sales increased.
