Massive online sales growth drives Dutch retail recovery

Online sales grew by a massive 20 percent last year and made a considerable contribution to the recovery of retail in the Netherlands.Retail trade recorded a turnover increase of 1.4 percent over 2015, the biggest sales growth since 2008, according to figures published by Statistics Netherlands on Thursday. The 20 percent growth in online sales over 2015 s considerably higher than in 2014, when online sales grew by 11 percent. Sales of so-called multi-channelers - online stores of which selling items on the internet is a secondary activity - grew by 23 percent. Sales at online only stores grew by 18 percent compared to 2014. Retail turnover in December came out 3.3 percent higher than in December 2014. Statistics Netherlands attributes the increase mostly to more sales - the volume grew by 3.4 percent. Prices were at about the same level as in December 2014 and there were about the same number of shopping days - one less Monday and one more Thursday. Shops in home furnishings showed the biggest turnover increase over 2015 with 7 percent, followed by drug stores with 4 percent. Revenues and sales in supermarkets increased by 2 percent. While retail turnover increased over 2015, the level is still almost 6 percent below pre-crisis levels. Non-food stores are even more than 16 percent below pre-crisis levels.