Supermarkets are not disappearing from every small community
Figures do show that accessibility and local support are under pressure in many villages.
The disappearance of supermarkets from small places affects liveability, but the pattern is not the same everywhere. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures and regional studies show a mixed picture: some villages are losing services, while supermarket provision remains stable in many small communities.
In an analysis of CBS data, NOS reported earlier this year that in 51 per cent of neighbourhoods and villages, access to essential services had worsened over five years. These included GPs, primary schools, childcare and supermarkets. In about one in five neighbourhoods, a service had disappeared because residents had to travel more than a kilometre for it in 2024.
That figure does not mean that a supermarket had closed in half of all villages. It measures access to several types of service and compares it with previous years. The CBS database for 2026 therefore records, among other things, the distance to the nearest large supermarket and the number of supermarkets within three kilometres for each area.
A study of shopping flows in the Randstad presents a more nuanced picture. In communities with fewer than 5,000 residents, the overall level of daily shopping provision remained stable between 2021 and 2025. However, small supermarkets closed in some small communities, while other chains took their place. The researchers identify economies of scale and a vulnerable economic base as important factors.
For residents, stable provision across a region does not automatically make the disappearance of a village shop irrelevant. A larger supermarket several kilometres away may still count statistically as an accessible service, while older people, those without cars and residents with disabilities may find it harder to use. Other shops and meeting places may also lose customers when the local supermarket closes.
The debate is therefore not only about the number of shops, but also about distance, transport and the role of local authorities. In parliamentary questions about disappearing shops, the cabinet previously stated that direct financial support for individual shops is restricted by state-aid rules. At the same time, local authorities can use spatial planning policy to make room for daily services. The available figures therefore do not support the general conclusion that supermarkets are disappearing from small places everywhere, but they do show that local differences and accessibility require attention.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Some villages have lost services or seen them move further away.
- Supermarket provision in small Randstad communities remained stable overall between 2021 and 2025.
- Local authorities can use spatial planning policy concerning daily services, but direct support for individual shops is subject to legal restrictions.
Left
Arguments The government must prevent basic services from surviving only where sufficient purchasing power exists. Targeted support, better public transport and public services in villages can prevent older people and those without cars from being excluded.
Values Equal access, social cohesion and public responsibility.
Consequences Greater public involvement costs money, but can limit transport poverty, vacant premises and further population decline.
Centre
Arguments Local authorities should consider what is feasible in each village and above all make room for combinations, such as a supermarket with a post office, care service or meeting space. The government can create the conditions without structurally subsidising every shop.
Values Proportionality, locally tailored solutions and efficient government.
Consequences Not every shop will be preserved, but access to groceries can be improved.
Right
Arguments A shop can survive only if residents buy enough there and operators can work profitably. Structural subsidies distort the market; better accessibility and fewer regulations are probably more effective than artificially keeping loss-making shops open.
Values Individual responsibility, entrepreneurship and careful use of taxpayers' money.
Consequences Some services will disappear, but new formats and regional scale can organise provision more efficiently.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The initial wording suggested a nationwide trend that the sources used do not support. The text has been corrected to distinguish between services that have disappeared, supermarket accessibility and the stable provision found in many small communities.
- confirmed In 51 per cent of neighbourhoods and villages, access to essential services worsened over five years. — NOS analysis of CBS data. source
- confirmed In about one in five neighbourhoods, one or more types of service disappeared. — NOS cites the regional analysis of CBS data. source
- confirmed The Randstad study found overall stable supermarket provision between 2021 and 2025 in communities with up to 5,000 residents. — Shopping Flows Randstad 2025, small communities chapter. source
- confirmed CBS records the distance to large supermarkets and the number within three kilometres. — Regional key figures 2026. source
- confirmed The cabinet points to state-aid rules regarding direct support for individual shops. — Response to parliamentary questions about disappearing shops. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: Supermarkets are disappearing from small places.Now: Supermarkets are disappearing from some small places, while provision remains stable in many small communities. (The public figures do not support a general nationwide conclusion.)
Editor's note
The new headlines point to a social pattern, but publicly available sources do not show a nationwide supermarket desert. The article has therefore been refined to reflect the better-supported picture of local decline and unequal accessibility.Sources
- Van café tot huisarts: dorpen in hele land zien voorzieningen verdwijnen — NOS
- Regionale kerncijfers Nederland — CBS
- Koopstromen detailhandel en horeca Randstad 2025 — Koopstromen / Locatus
- Kamervragen over verdwijnende winkels — Rijksoverheid
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „supermarkten dorpen”
- NOS — „supermarkten dorpen”
- Het Parool — „supermarkten dorpen”