Web shops take over from bricks and mortar stores in the Netherlands

DutchNews, April 4, 2017    

Web shops are rapidly replacing bricks-and-mortar stores in the Netherlands, according to a report by the national statistics office CBS published on Tuesday. 

The number of web shops totalled more than 32,000 in 2016, a giant increase over the 5,000 registered in 2007, the CBS said. At the same time, the number of physical shops went down by 4.4%, with DVD and CD shops, cameras and baby and childrens’ clothing leading the way. 

But not all types of physical shops were disappearing: there are now 37.3% more telephone shops than 10 years ago. And the CBS reported a 30% gain in department stores, fishmongers and second-hand clothing in the period. 

Overall, the number of stores in large and medium-sized cities declined over the 10-year period. But in the country’s newest province Flevoland there was an increase in store numbers – 10% in Almere and 12% in Lelystad, the CBS said.