Amsterdam, July 3 - Dutch supermarket sales rose 7.6 percent in June as consumers spent more and visited stores more often due to European soccer championship offers and discounts, market researcher GfK said on Thursday.
Supermarket sales rose to 2.35 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in the period ending June 29, up from 2.2 billion euros in June 2007, GfK said in a statement.
Sales in the first half of 2008 rose 7.7 percent to 14.93 billion euros compared to the first half last year. Growth was expected to slow a bit in the second half but full year sales would exceed 30 billion euros, GfK said.
GfK expected sales to increase by 7 percent for the full year due to rising food prices, up from a 4 percent rise in 2007, the researcher said in April.
Dutch Ahold's Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, and competes with Super De Boer , majority owned by French peer Casino , Schuitema's C-1000 stores, and others.