A new bakery that opens in a building that previously housed a bookshop; in short, this is the trend in the shopping streets. Figures from Statistics Netherlands show that the number of stores has increased in the past year for the first time since 2010. But that does not apply to all types of stores.
In particular, the number of shops selling food products rose. For example, on 1 January this year there were almost 5 percent more bakers and pastry chefs than a year earlier. The number of supermarkets, liquor stores, fishmongers and greengrocers also increased.
Bookstores were hit hard. Nearly one in twelve bookstores closed their doors. A larger decrease than in the three previous years combined. A relatively large number of shoe stores and stationery stores also closed.
Clothing stores are still by far the largest group of stores, despite a slight decline. More than 13,000 of the nearly 84,000 stores in the Netherlands sell clothing.
Groningen only shrinking province
Vlieland gained relatively the most shops in 2021. The shopkeeper population of the island municipality increased by 18 percent. Of the large municipalities, especially in Haarlemmermeer (+4.3 percent) and Nijmegen (+2.5 percent) the shopping street became more crowded.
Oostzaan (-9.4 percent) and Lopik (-8.8 percent) experienced the largest decrease. Groningen was the only province where the total number of stores decreased slightly. The store stock expanded most in South Holland and Overijssel.
Despite the slight national increase, there are still 13,000 fewer shops than in 2010, the high point in the shopping street.
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