Recently, an article by Locatus suggested that shopping streets in 2024 would be much busier than in 2023. However, the real-time data from RMC presents a more nuanced picture.

Only Q1 Saw an Increase

In the first quarter of 2024, RMC confirms that shopping street traffic did increase compared to 2023 and other years. With a +3.2% increase, this reflects the growing trend well. This also aligns with CBS figures, which reported a 4.5% rise in non-food retail sales for Q1. Compared to 2019, there was even a 1.2% increase. However, from April onwards, this upward trend turned into a significant decline. Due to the many rainy days and the wet month of April this year, real-time data shows a decrease of -16.8% in shopping street traffic through the end of May, marking a clear break from the first quarter's trend.

The real-time data from RMC confirms that larger cities are busier than smaller towns, but even here, some nuance is needed. For example, the center of Utrecht saw a significant increase in traffic in Q1 (+9.5%), as did Maastricht (+23%) and Amsterdam’s Leidsestraat (+11.5%). However, this trend was not uniform across all areas—traffic in the Kalverstraat actually decreased by -1.8%.

We continue to track real-time shopping trends across the Netherlands and Belgium. If you have any questions regarding this article, feel free to email me at h.lubbers@rmc.nl.