2020.05.2907:51:00UTC+00Dutch Retail Sales Drop In April

Dutch retail sales dropped in April, as demand slumped amid a lockdown in the country to slow the spread of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

Retail sales declined 1.5 percent year-on-year in April, after a 3.3 percent increase in March.

The measures against the spread of coronavirus disease had a diverse effect on the non-food sector, the agency said.

Sales of non-food decreased a record 15.8 percent in April, while sales in food stores rose 6.1 percent. Clothing and footwear sales fell at an accelerated pace.

Do-it-yourself segment sales logged a record gain in April, in line with the March trend.

Online sales gained 62.4 percent compared to the same month last year.

The retail sales volume decreased 3.5 percent in April.