FX.co ★ Dutch Retail Sales Growth Slows to 5-Month Low

In May 2025, retail sales in the Netherlands experienced a year-on-year increase of 2.2%. This growth, however, was a deceleration from the previous month's ten-month peak of 3.9%, which had been revised downward. Despite this growth being the eleventh consecutive month of increases in retail activity, it was the most modest since December of the previous year. The slowdown was evident in both food and non-food product sales, with food sales rising by 1.7% compared to April's 2.4%, and non-food products increasing by 2.5% down from 4.7%. In particular, the sale of food items saw slower growth in specialty shops (3.6% compared to 8.4%) and supermarkets (1.4% compared to 1.6%). Non-food product sales, on the other hand, saw declines in categories like footwear and leather goods, which dropped by 4.3% after a previous increase of 2.5%, and consumer electronics and white goods, which continued their downward trend at -10%, a slight improvement from the previous -10.3%. Additionally, sales growth decelerated for DIY, kitchens, and floors, falling to 1.6% from 5.6%. On a seasonally adjusted month-to-month basis, the retail sector saw a decline of 0.6% in May, following a revised 0.5% decrease in the preceding month.