At the start of the first quarter of 2024, more entrepreneurs expect an increase in their sales prices than a quarter earlier. Price expectations are higher, especially within construction and services. In addition, just over half of entrepreneurs indicate that they are unable or barely able to pass on cost increases to their customers. Statistics Netherlands reports this on the basis of the Netherlands Business Survey of January 2024, which is conducted in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, EIB, MKB-Nederland and VNO-NCW.
At the start of the corona crisis, more entrepreneurs expected a decrease in their sales prices than an increase; expectations were therefore negative on balance. At the beginning of 2021, price expectations rose sharply – before inflation rose. These then peaked during 2022 with a balance of almost 50 percent. The balance fell from 2023, to 16 percent at the end of that year. At the beginning of 2024, more entrepreneurs expect higher sales prices. While price expectations rose in 2021 mainly in industry, construction and later retail, this is now mainly in services and again construction.
Half of companies can hardly or cannot pass on higher costs
In recent years, entrepreneurs have had to deal with price increases for energy and raw materials, among other things. The extent to which they can pass on the increased costs to their customers varies greatly. Nearly 4 percent say they can pass on the cost increases in full, and almost 42 percent say they can pass on a large part. Almost 46 percent can do this to a small extent (barely), and just over 6 percent indicate that this is not possible at all.
Leisure entrepreneurs are better able to pass on increased costs
In various sectors it has become more difficult for entrepreneurs to pass on cost increases to customers. Within the retail sector, for example, almost 73 percent of entrepreneurs indicate that they are unable or barely able to pass on cost increases to their customers. In the first quarter of 2023, this was still almost 53 percent.
A decrease is visible in culture, sports and recreation. While this sector was still the leader in January 2023 and 85 percent of entrepreneurs indicated that they could not pass on the cost increases, this percentage fell to 2024 percent in 78. This means that the sector now ranks third.
1 in 5 entrepreneurs sees price increases as the most worrying development for 2024
Nearly 20 percent of all entrepreneurs see price increases as the most worrying development for their company. This is higher within the Culture, sports and recreation sector and 28 percent of entrepreneurs indicated this. The tightness on the labor market was the second most worrying development at 22 percent. Only a small part of this sector (3 percent) indicated political tensions and conflicts as a worrying development. About 39 percent of entrepreneurs indicated that they did not experience any worrying situations.
More information: CBS.nl