D. Tighe
Research expert covering consumer behavior, sporting goods retail, and the global toy industry.
Get in touch with us nowKey retail figures
As of 2020, there were nearly 280,000 wholesale and retail trade enterprises located on Dutch soil. This is approximately twice the number of enterprises found in the neighboring country of Belgium. During that year, these Dutch wholesale and retail companies generated a total of some 690 billion euros of turnover, which was a slight decrease compared to 2019, when the highest recorded turnover was generated. Back in 2011, the country’s wholesale and retail trade turnover stood at an estimated 610 billion euros.In 2022, most retail industries fared well in terms of retail sales. For instance, clothing and shoe stores in the Netherlands recorded considerable retail sales gains. Respectively, the retail sales volume for each branch grew by roughly 23 percent and 17 percent compared to the previous year. E-commerce was the only branch to experience a drop in sales compared to the previous year, which is unsurprising considering how prevalent the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (and its resulting measures) still was in 2021. Overall, total retail sales across the country increased by roughly six percent in 2022, compared to the previous year.
Food retail in the Netherlands
At around 22,000, the number of food retailers in the Netherlands has remained fairly stable since 2017. Many of these food retailers are part of larger franchises: from Aldi and Dirk, to Hoogvliet and Spar, Dutch consumers have many options at their disposal. That said, the most commonly found food retail chains in the country were Albert Heijn and Jumbo. Respectively, these companies accounted for approximately 37 and 22 percent of the Dutch food retail market.
