Dutch shop sales rise 2.9% in March despite Middle East war

Dutch shops posted higher sales in March than in the same month a year earlier, led by strong gains at furniture stores, with no sign of a feared slowdown from public reactions to the war in the Middle East, figures from the CBS show.

Shop sales rose 2.9 percent in March compared with March 2025. The increase was stronger than in the first two months of the year, and sales volume grew 2.2 percent.

Furniture and home-furnishing stores stood out with a strong 6 percent gain. Non-food shop sales overall climbed 3.6 percent, helped by recreation articles (up 4.7 percent), home improvement and DIY stores such as kitchen and floor retailers (2.5 percent), and drugstores (2.2 percent).

Clothing stores rose nearly 2 percent, and consumer electronics stores rose just over 1 percent. Shoe and leather goods stores were the only ones to see lower sales.

Food and beverage shops recorded 1.8 percent higher sales, led by supermarkets at 2 percent. Online sales jumped 7.7 percent overall, with pure web shops up 6.5 percent and multichannel retailers up 9.7 percent. Online sales of consumer electronics surged nearly 17 percent, while clothing and fashion rose 12.5 percent.

Food and beverage shops recorded 1.8 percent higher sales, led by supermarkets at 2 percent. Online sales jumped 7.7 percent overall, with pure web shops up 6.5 percent and multichannel retailers up 9.7 percent. Online sales of consumer electronics surged nearly 17 percent, while clothing and fashion rose 12.5 percent.