Netherlands: Supermarkets and DIY turnover due to COVID-19

In week 11 of 2020, supermarkets in the Netherlands reached a turnover that was 35 percent higher than in the same week the year before. In fact, the gross revenue was higher than in the week around Christmas 2019, traditionally the most profitable week of the year. Compared to an average week in 2019, supermarket turnover in week 11 of 2020 was approximately 30 percent higher. Similarly, DIY retailers' turnover in week 12 of 2020 was more than 50 percent higher than in 2019. These dramatic sales increases in otherwise relatively stable sectors were caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Supermarket and DIY turnover in the Netherlands

Turnover, otherwise known as (gross) revenue or income, refers to the amount of money earned by a business or industry in a particular period, usually through sales. The present data was collected and compiled from several major supermarket chains and DIY retail stores in the Netherlands. The average weekly deviation of supermarket turnover in 2019 was 3.63 percent, indicating that the surge in sales of week 11, 2020 was highly exceptional. In contrast, DIY retail turnovers in 2019 were more fluctuant. Nonetheless, the revenue peak in week 12 of 2020 superseded the traditional spring time peak of 2019.

COVID-19 and its impact on retail

The COVID-19 epidemic led to catastrophic changes in the global retail climate, with some businesses failing due to government regulations and the resulting lack of customers, and others unable to satisfy increased demand. Whereas empty shopping streets, caused by a devastating combination of social distancing regulation and coronavirus fear, forced many non-essential retailers to close up shops, other businesses such as supermarkets and DIY stores struggled to cope with a surge in customers. The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases increased constantly in March 2020.

Weekly turnover index of supermarkets and DIY stores in the Netherlands from January 2019 to March 2020 (compared to an average week in 2019)

Characteristic	Supermarkets	DIY retail stores
2020, week 12	121.98	153.67
2020, week 11	129.85	105.64
2020, week 10	103.25	95.72
2020, week 9	105.34	101.32
2020, week 8	99.17	95.28
2020, week 7	98.85	88.89
2020, week 6	100.01	87.11
2020, week 5	99.93	92.93
2020, week 4	100.18	88.33
2020, week 3	97.13	86.82
2020, week 2	99.41	84.46
2020, week 1	106.28	99.85
2019, week 52	107.87	98.62
2019, week 51	116.46	90.33
2019, week 50	104.75	93.11
2019, week 49	103.36	102.93
2019, week 48	101.41	103.18
2019, week 47	100.7	92.06
2019, week 46	101.26	89.94
2019, week 45	100.84	95.66
2019, week 44	104.12	95.87
2019, week 43	100.41	103.64
2019, week 42	96.93	99.63
2019, week 41	98.42	92.91
2019, week 40	99.63	93.41
2019, week 39	99.95	96.43
2019, week 38	98.65	88.25
2019, week 37	96.58	86.46
2019, week 36	100.29	91.17
2019, week 35	104.1	89.13
2019, week 34	102.04	100.16
2019, week 33	96.24	106.71
2019, week 32	94.9	111.16
2019, week 31	93.5	108.85
2019, week 30	102.07	107.67
2019, week 29	97.44	107.57
2019, week 28	99.44	102.45
2019, week 27	103.8	104.57
2019, week 26	108.62	112.64
2019, week 25	104.56	117.35
2019, week 24	104.1	111.67
2019, week 23	103.51	106.49
2019, week 22	105.55	145.2
2019, week 21	101.98	109.94
2019, week 20	99.37	104.98
2019, week 19	102.48	97.09
2019, week 18	99.48	117.85
2019, week 17	97.54	125.19
2019, week 16	109.85	120.25
2019, week 15	100.29	106.06
2019, week 14	98.18	112.39
2019, week 13	97.66	101.11
2019, week 12	97	101.02
2019, week 11	96.19	86.88
2019, week 10	97.41	89.7
2019, week 9	96.53	93.77
2019, week 8	93.87	94.61
2019, week 7	93.34	83.09
2019, week 6	94.7	81.8
2019, week 5	95.26	84.4
2019, week 4	96.53	84.42
2019, week 3	93.03	84.22
2019, week 2	93.89	82.81
2019, week 1	93.93	93.21