Shops and supermarkets are increasingly open during the Christmas period. If about twenty years ago it was unthinkable to be able to go shopping during the holidays, now it is the most normal thing in the world. “New Year’s and Christmas are the only days when almost everything is closed. But it won’t be long,” says retail expert Michel Kregel.
Those were the times when the supermarket closed at 6pm on Christmas Eve and only reopened on December 27th. Or the days of Christmas when entire urban centers were nearly extinct.
But times have changed. “What if we go to a 24-hour economy where shops and supermarkets are open during the holidays? We’re there already. We’re dealing with the IKEA effect. They’ve been lobbying for a long time to be able to open at Christmas. And it’s a huge success,” says Kregel.
The retail expert predicts that the opening hours on Christmas Day will also be extended within the next three years. “It’s not Christmas years ago when everything was closed”.
‘Boxing Day is a sort of shopping Sunday’
Bob Gross of Openingsuren.nl also sees this development. In 2013, for example, 100 supermarkets were open in our country on Christmas day. In 2021 there were 1,700. On Santo Stefano, in 2013 there were 1,500 superstores, compared to 3,800 in 2021. “Above all, Santo Stefano has become a sort of shopping Sunday”.
According to Gross, a distinction must be made between supermarkets and shops in other sectors. “Supermarkets are most often open on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but shops are closed in other branches. Sometimes these entrepreneurs cannot open, but it is also not the most attractive days.”
Staff shortages are an obstacle
Director Eus Peters of the Dutch Retail Council notes that many shops want to open, but that staff shortages are hampering this. “We also see that especially car and furniture boulevards and kitchen shops are open on Boxing Day. But it’s not about entire city centers.”
Peters understands that many supermarkets are choosing to open their doors. “People still want to buy food, but they don’t necessarily go to a store that sells face creams. Why do you really need it on Boxing Day?”
