Belgium’s grocery retail sector is increasingly adapting to Sunday trading. What was once an exception is now becoming a survival strategy for many chains. With OKay and Carrefour, more large integrated retailers are introducing regular Sunday morning openings.

“Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it sacred.”

Exodus 20:8

Since early January 2026, all 152 OKay stores of the Colruyt Group have been open on Sundays between 8:00 and 12:30. Customers can buy everyday groceries as well as freshly baked goods, with special promotions marking the launch. According to the company, the move responds to changing consumer habits, while agreements with staff representatives aim to mitigate the additional workload.

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OKay CEO Christophe Dehandschutter acknowledged that Sunday work places extra demands on employees, stressing that extensive negotiations with unions were necessary to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement.

Within the Colruyt Group, Sunday opening is already common across several formats, including OKay City, OKay Direct, Cru markets, many Spar stores, and selected Comarché outlets. In tourist areas, Colruyt supermarkets also open on Sundays during peak holiday periods.

Carrefour is following a similar path. From mid-January, its integrated stores will be allowed to open on Sunday mornings. The agreement covers dozens of hypermarkets and Market supermarkets, in addition to hundreds of franchised outlets already operating on Sundays. The deal is intended to safeguard jobs and prevent the franchising of these stores.

Chains such as Delhaize and Intermarché have long embraced Sunday trading. Delhaize benefits from its fully franchised structure, which allows greater flexibility. Aldi and Lidl, by contrast, continue to keep their stores closed on Sundays. Within the Colruyt Group, only Colruyt Meilleurs Prix still refuses regular Sunday opening.

This resistance is largely economic. According to the group, average customer spending on Sundays is significantly lower than on weekdays. While shoppers spend less than €30 on Sundays, weekday baskets are noticeably higher — and much higher at Colruyt. Under these conditions, the company argues, Sunday trading is difficult to make profitable.

To address competitive imbalances, the Colruyt Group is calling for a simplification of labor frameworks in the retail sector, advocating more uniform pay and working conditions. Trade unions share this preference for sector-wide solutions.

Independent retailers, however, have voiced concerns. They warn that harmonization could push many small operators into loss-making territory. Sunday shopping may be becoming the norm — but it is also intensifying structural tensions within the sector. (Brussels Times/ESM)

By Okay Altinisik | 6-1-2026, 14:57:06