02.04.202604:46:44UTC+00Dutch Retail Sales Growth Lowest Since 2016

Retail sales in the Netherlands rose 1.3% year-on-year in February 2026, slowing from a downwardly revised 1.6% increase in January. This was the weakest annual growth since September 2016 and was mainly due to a softer expansion in the food segment (1.4% vs 2.3% in January), especially at supermarkets (1.6% vs 3%), although specialty food stores returned to growth (0.1% vs -3.1%).

Sales of non-food products grew at the same pace as in the previous month (1.2%), with turnover rising for furniture and home furnishings (5.5% vs -3.8%), drugstores (5.3% vs 5%), DIY, kitchens and floors (2.1% vs -2%), and clothing (1.7% vs 0.3%). By contrast, growth in spending on consumer electronics and white goods (2.9% vs 8.9%) and on shoes and leather goods (1.8% vs 4.5%) slowed markedly.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 0.3% in February, reversing a 0.4% increase in January.