Retail
Published by:
Statistics Netherlands, CBS
Are you looking for statistical information on the retail sector?
On this page, you will find the key figures and trends. The retail sector includes clothing stores, supermarkets, and gas stations, among others.
Key figures
176 290
businesses
2.2
per cent turnover growth
39 700
job vacancies
Number of businesses
Number of businesses
At the start of the third quarter of 2026, there were 176,290 retail businesses in the Netherlands. That is 25 fewer than in the previous quarter.
Turnover
Turnover
In the first quarter of 2026, retail businesses reported a 2.2% increase in sales compared with the same period a year earlier.
Vacancies and wages
Job vacancies
In the first quarter of 2026, there were 39,700 job openings in the retail sector. That is slightly more than in the previous quarter. At that time, there were 37,300 job openings in the industry.
Development of CAO wages
In the second quarter of 2026, collective bargaining agreement wages in the retail sector rose by 4.7% compared with the same period a year earlier. In the previous quarter, the wage increase was 4.8%.
Business confidence
Business confidence
At the beginning of the second quarter of 2026, business confidence in the retail sector stood at -11.8. This is lower than in the previous quarter, when confidence stood at 1.4. Retail business owners were about as pessimistic as business owners in other sectors.