Fashion pulse: Netherlands - August 2026

Consumer prices (August)

Dutch headline inflation on the national consumer price index (CPI) rose to plus 3.3 percent year-on-year in August 2026, up from plus 3.2 percent in July, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). CBS attributed the rise mainly to the prices of goods and services Dutch consumers buy abroad, which were 7.4 percent higher YoY. Clothing and footwear prices rose 1.1 percent YoY on the national CPI, up from 0.2 percent in July and below headline inflation.

Within the national CPI basket, according to CBS, clothing prices rose 1.5 percent YoY while footwear prices fell 0.7 percent. Womenswear rose 2.0 percent and menswear fell 0.3 percent, while garments for infants under two years rose 4.9 percent and other articles of clothing and accessories 4.3 percent. Footwear prices as a whole have been lower than a year earlier in every month of 2026, though August's decline was the smallest this year.

On the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which CBS compiles to EU-wide methodology for cross-country comparison, headline inflation eased to 2.8 percent in August from 3.0 percent in July, while clothing and footwear rose 1.2 percent YoY.

Retail sales (August, preliminary)

Clothing store turnover rose 2.5 percent YoY in August, while sales volume rose 0.5 percent, according to preliminary CBS figures adjusted for the number of shopping days. According to CBS, shoe and leather goods stores were the only store type with lower turnover than a year earlier, with turnover down 1.1 percent and volume down 1.0 percent. Preliminary CBS data show online turnover at clothing and fashion retailers up 6.1 percent YoY.

Preliminary turnover for retail excluding cars and petrol stations rose 3.5 percent YoY and volume 2.7 percent, which CBS described as the largest turnover increase since November 2025. Non-store retail, which includes online sales, grew 6.7 percent in turnover and 5.3 percent in volume on the same preliminary basis. Clothing stores therefore grew more slowly than retail overall in both turnover and volume.

Macro context (August)

Consumer confidence held at minus 33 in August, unchanged from July, according to CBS. The economic climate component improved to minus 56 from minus 57, while willingness to buy edged down to minus 19 from minus 18. The balance of consumers who consider it a good time to make large purchases improved to minus 35 from minus 37.

The Dutch unemployment rate stood at 4.0 percent in August, unchanged from July, according to the European Union statistics office Eurostat. CBS counted a preliminary 334 bankruptcies across all sectors of the economy in August, adjusted for court session days, compared with 295 in July and 339 in August 2025.

Monetary policy and currency (August)

The European Central Bank (ECB) left the deposit facility rate unchanged at 2.25 percent in August. The euro strengthened 1.54 percent against the US dollar in August, with a monthly mean of 1.1593 dollars versus 1.1417 dollars in July, according to the ECB. Compared with August 2025, the euro was 0.33 percent weaker, a marginal change in the cost of dollar-invoiced sourcing.

The bottom line

Dutch clothing and footwear prices rose 1.1 percent YoY on the national CPI in August, below headline CPI inflation of 3.3 percent. Preliminary CBS data show clothing stores growing turnover 2.5 percent and volume 0.5 percent, behind retail overall, while online fashion turnover rose 6.1 percent and shoe and leather goods stores were, according to CBS, the only store type to contract. Consumer confidence held at minus 33, with willingness to buy edging down.

Note: this article combines the most recent official data available at the time of writing. Reporting lags differ by indicator and country, so not all figures refer to the same month. Each data point is labelled with its reference period.