Turnover in the retail trade increased by over 4 percent in 2017, its biggest growth in turnover since 2006. Sales were up over 3 percent. Turnover in both food and non-food stores grew in 2017. In the non-food sector, shops selling do-it-yourself items, kitchens, floors and furniture benefited most noticeably from the rebound in the housing market. Webshops generated 17 percent more turnover than in 2016.

The number of specialty food stores hardly changed between 2008 and 2017. However, there were significant changes per sector. For example, there was a 31 percent increase in the number of fish shops during this period. The number of cheese shops increased by 20 percent and the number of health food shops by 18 percent. Many greengrocers (29 percent), butchers (16 percent) and poulterers (8 percent) disappeared from the high street. There were also fewer off-licences (6 percent) and tobacconists (8 percent).

The wholesale trade achieved a rise in turnover of almost 7 percent in 2017 compared to the previous year. Annual turnover was up in almost every sector. The exception was the wholesale trade in agricultural products, where sales tailed off by over 3 percent. Turnover rose fastest in the commodities trade. The rising oil price in the second half of 2017 and the recovery in the metals and ore market were the drivers behind this accelerated growth. The wholesale trade in building materials benefitted from the healthy annual climate for construction.

Turnover in the automotive and motorcycle sector increased for the third consecutive year in 2017. The passenger car industry (sales up by 7 percent) and the importers of new passenger cars (sales up by 6 percent) recorded the highest growth in turnover. In 2017 substantially more new passenger cars were sold than in the previous year. Only the commercial vehicle sector reported a contraction in turnover in 2017 after two years of significant growth.

Between 2012–2017, turnover in the hotel and restaurant industry grew by 29 percent. The number of consumptions and/or overnight stays (volume) was 17 percent higher than in 2012. Restaurants showed the sharpest rise in turnover, followed by fast food restaurants and hotels. Turnover for bars and cafés in 2017 was over 12 percent higher than five years earlier. This increase can mainly be attributed to price rises, as there was little change in the number of consumptions sold.

Turnover and the number of consumptions sold (volume) in restaurants have been increasing for seven years in a row. Restaurants reported record growth in turnover in 2017: nearly 8 percent compared to one year earlier. The number of consumptions sold increased by almost 6 percent.

The number of overnight stays in Dutch hotels rose by over 33 percent in the period 2012–2017. This growth is mainly due to the added influx of guests from abroad, who accounted for 46 percent more overnight hotel stays in 2017 than in 2012. Dutch guests booked 21 percent more overnight hotel stays. In 2017, foreign guests booked 26.1 million overnight stays in Dutch hotels, and guests from the Netherlands 22.6 million.