Dutch Retail Sales Growth Slows to 5-Month Low

Retail sales in the Netherlands rose by 2.2% year-on-year in May 2025, slowing from a downwardly revised and ten-month high of 3.9% advance in the previous month.

This marked the eleventh consecutive month of growth in retail activity but the softest since December last year, driven by slower increases in sales of both food (1.7% vs 2.4% in April) and non-food products (2.5% vs 4.7%).

Food products particularly moderated in specialty shops (3.6% vs 8.4%) and supermarkets (1.4% vs 1.6%), while trade declined for shoes & leather goods (-4.3% vs 2.5%), consumer electronics & white goods (-10% vs -10.3%), and eased for DIY, kitchens, and floors (1.6% vs 5.6%) for non-food products.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity dropped by 0.6% in May, following an upwardly revised 0.5% fall in the preceding period.