One in five shops have closed as online sales continue to grow

One-fifth of high street shops have shut down as online sales continue to dominate the sector, according to a report by Dutch bank ING.

Electronic shops have been hardest hit, with 42% closing as more than half of items are now purchased online. DIY and clothing stores have also seen their numbers drop by around a quarter.

ING said traders with a handful of branches were most under threat from online retail, while the larger players had been able to respond by making their stores bigger so they can stock a wider range of products.

“Regional chain store businesses are disappearing,” said ING retail economist Dirk Mulder. “Shops like Harense Smid and BCC have disappeared in the electronics sector.

“In the fashion sector it’s chains like Vanilia and Assem Schoenen and all the small companies with three or four premises that are having a very hard time.”

Sales grew much faster online in the last three years, with turnover increasing by 21% compared to 8% for physical shops, ING found. When corrected for inflation it translates to a 3% increase in the number of items sold in-store.

Cosmetics and drugstores such as Kruidvat and Etos have seen less of their sales move online, with just 13% of their turnover coming through their web shops. “They have everyday essentials that people can easily pick up as they’re passing by,” Mulder explained.

But shops trying to compete with the large online retailers such as Amazon and Bol are losing out in the online sales battle. The latter saw their turnover grow by an average of 7% last year while multi-channel shops, which have both online sales and walk-in stores, grew by just 2%.