Retail turnover in the Netherlands, excluding petrol stations, was 3.5% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said on 1 October. Sales volume, which removes price changes, increased 2.7%. CBS’s headline comparison is adjusted for the calendar because the distribution of weekdays can affect how much is sold. Without that adjustment, nominal turnover would have risen 2.5%. Both headline rates compare August 2026 with August 2025.

Turnover at shops selling food, beverages and tobacco increased 0.9%, while their sales volume rose 1.0%. CBS’s prose assigns 1.0% to supermarkets and 0.4% to specialist food shops, but the table in the same release lists those two rates against the opposite shop types. We therefore do not assign either disputed subtotal here. Non-food turnover, including retail outside shops, increased 5.0%; its sales volume grew 3.5%. Turnover and the quantity sold after removing price effects are different measures.

Within non-food retail, turnover at furniture and household-goods shops rose 7.1%, and recreational-goods shops recorded a 5.9% increase. Clothing turnover grew 2.5%, while shops selling footwear and leather goods recorded a 1.1% decline. Turnover at consumer-electronics shops increased 0.7%. The spread shows that store categories did not all expand at the same pace. CBS classifications describe business activities and sales channels; they do not represent the results of any single company.

Online retail turnover increased 6.2% year on year. Businesses whose main activity is selling online recorded 7.0% growth, compared with 4.8% at multi-channel retailers that use the internet alongside shops. Online sales of food and personal-care products rose 9.6%, clothing and fashion 6.1%, and consumer electronics 5.4%. Online turnover is a separate channel measure within retail; adding its growth rate to the overall retail rate would not produce total sales growth.

CBS says the published turnover figures are provisional and may be revised. One month is not a sound basis for forecasting September or later consumer demand. Calendar adjustment, removal of price changes and classification by sales channel address different measurement questions. Readers tracking retail activity should keep turnover separate from volume, annual changes separate from monthly movements, and online sales separate from the overall sector total. The figures describe activity in August 2026; they are not a forecast of household spending or a measure of company profitability.