On Jan. 1, 2023, there were 82,100 physical stores in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch Retail Association of Sporting Goods Suppliers (FGHS). That’s 1,600 fewer stores than a year earlier. This is the steepest decline since the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic, according to preliminary figures from the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
In 2021, the number of stores had increased to 83,800. This seems to have been a temporary increase in the number of physical traders. The latest figures fit the downward trend that started in 2010. For the first time, there are more online stores (84,100) than physical stores (82,100) in the Netherlands. The total number of online stores has increased, as in previous years. However, at 4.1 percent, the increase is lower than during the period of strong growth during the pandemic.
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