More than a thousand more physical stores in the Netherlands, increase in bookstores and DIY stores

There are now more than 83 thousand physical stores and more than 95 thousand online stores. Last year, for the first time, there were more online stores than physical stores in the Netherlands. That difference became even greater last year: the number of online stores increased much faster than the number of retail properties.

It is striking that the number of bookstores increased relatively the most: by more than 12 percent from 585 to 660 branches. This follows a decline of many years; in 2007 there were still almost a thousand bookstores in the Netherlands. Stichting Lezen previously noted that the sales share of physical bookstores was holding steady.

Tobacco shops are also becoming more common on the shopping streets, which may be related to the sales ban in supermarkets as of July 1, 2024. In absolute terms, the number of DIY stores increased the most. There are now more than five thousand. By comparison: the Netherlands has approximately 900 greengrocers and 2,300 butchers and poulterers.

More stores have not been opened in all sectors. The number of white and brown goods shops and shops for video and audio recordings actually fell by more than 2 percent. That is still a smaller decline than the year before, when the number of stores in both industries fell by about 7.5 percent.

Almost 1 in 6 stores in the Netherlands is a clothing store, of which there are more than thirteen thousand. The supermarkets follow at a great distance with almost seven thousand stores.

There were more shops in two-thirds of the municipalities on January 1, 2024 than the year before. In the municipalities of Oostzaan, Zoeterwoude and Terschelling, the number of shops increased by more than 10 percent. The biggest decliner is also a Wadden island: on Vlieland the number of retail locations fell by more than 10 percent. In small municipalities, the number of shops can fluctuate greatly; the closure or opening of a few businesses causes a large fluctuation.

Of the twenty largest municipalities in the Netherlands, the number of shops increased most strongly in Haarlemmermeer, by 7.5 percent to 700 shops. No large municipality saw a significant drop in the number of shops. In Apeldoorn, Eindhoven, Almere and Arnhem, the range of shops decreased, but by less than 1 percent.