Amsterdam's shopping streets changing: Fewer stores, more food & drinks

Amsterdam’s shopping streets are changing, with retail offer like clothing stores and furniture making way for places selling food and drinks. Better than vacancy, but it mustn’t go too far, street manager Sheila Pommenschenkel of Utrechtsestraat told AT5. “Too much is never good; we must keep diversity.”

About eight out of every ten applications she receives for vacant buildings are food and beverage outlets. Not restaurants or other classic catering establishments, which require specific zoning, but to-go food and drinks. Like coffee outlets or Asian delicacies, Prommenschenckel said.

The trend is not limited to Utrechtsestraat. “You see retail disappearing from the city center throughout the city and even across the country,” researcher Laila Echternach told AT5. There are two main reasons for this shift, she said. Online shopping is more popular than ever, which means less traffic for physical stores. “In addition, it is cheaper for the hospitality industry to establish itself in the city center than retail due to inventory costs. Retail has to stock an entire collection for months. The stock for food and drinks only lasts a few days.”

Tourists are also more likely to pop into a food spot than an H&M. “Of course, everyone needs to eat and drink. But if you don’t have a reason to come to the street, you won’t pick up food either,” Prommenschenckel said. “You want to have lunch, but you still want to go shopping. You really don’t have to have a drink in every building.”

Echternach acknowledged Prommenschenckel’s concerns but isn’t too worried herself. “You always want a varied selection. Eating is also something you do after shopping.” But if the other option is vacancy, this development is nothing but positive. “It ensures that many people still want to be in the city center.”