Nearly half of supermarkets open on Christmas; Most open on Boxing Day

Nearly half of all supermarkets are open on Christmas Day. By Boxing Day, roughly 90 percent of stores are available for quick shopping trips. This pattern is consistent with previous years; data from Openingstijden.nl shared with ANP show.

After years of increase, the number of supermarkets open during the holidays now appears to be stabilizing. When tracking began in 2013, just 3 percent of stores were open on Christmas Day. Numbers climbed annually through 2021 but have stayed nearly constant over the last three years.

On Christmas Day, at least one supermarket is open in three-quarters of all municipalities. By Boxing Day, nearly all municipalities have stores available for shoppers. However, in nine municipalities, such as Aalburg, Scherpenzeel, and Urk, no supermarkets open over the holiday period.

Christmas opening hours vary widely between supermarket chains. Chains like Vomar, DekaMarkt, Dirk van den Broek, and Albert Heijn keep a large number of stores open, whereas Aldi and Lidl tend to remain closed more often on Christmas Day.

The Dutch Shop Opening Hours Act stipulates that stores must be closed on official holidays such as Christmas Day and Boxing Day. However, municipalities can issue exemptions permitting them to stay open. This means supermarket opening hours can differ from one municipality to another, based on local regulations and decisions.

Supermarket openings over the Christmas period reflect a wider trend, with many stores now also open on New Year’s Day. Openingstijden.nl data show that on January 1, at least one supermarket was open in seven out of ten municipalities, a practice far less common in the past.