Dutch online retailers booked a 17% increase in sales in the first 11 months of last year, compared with just 1% sales growth for physical shops, the national statistics office CBS said on Wednesday.

However, retailers which combine an online presence with an actual shop saw their sales rise almost 25% over the same period, the CBS said.

The number of Dutch registered web shops has soared from 5,000 at the beginning of 2007 to almost 30,000 by the beginning of last year. One in four online retailers specialises in clothing, while 16% focus on garden and household goods. Just 2% are book sellers.

Despite the costs of the technology and delivery, costs account for just 11.5% of web shop sales. By contrast, non-food high street retailers’ costs account for almost 25% of their turnover.