Ecommerce in Switzerland: €5.27 billion in 2017

The business-to-consumer ecommerce turnover of Switzerland grew by 8.7 percent last year and was worth 6.25 billion Swiss francs, or 5.27 billion euros. This year, a growth rate of 10 percent is predicted, which would mean ecommerce in Switzerland will be worth just below 7 billion euros.

This can be concluded from the 2018 Switzerland Ecommerce Report, brought to us by the Ecommerce Foundation. According to their research, the ecommerce market in Switzerland has excellent opportunities for retailers overseas, as about two-thirds of online purchases in this country are cross-border, while the average amount that consumers spend online keeps growing.

Clothing most popular product category

When Swiss consumers shop online at foreign stores, they mostly go to German webshops, while French, American and Chinese online stores are also a popular shopping destination. Whether shopped at local ecommerce websites or abroad, clothing is by far the most popular product category among Swiss online shoppers. It represents 57 percent of online retail purchases in Switzerland. It’s also the most frequently searched category on digital devices, the Ecommerce Foundation found out.

Potential for ecommerce in Switzerland is high

The foundation says the potential for ecommerce in Switzerland is ‘staggeringly high’, partly due because the very high level of internet penetration (95 percent). “The level of infrastructure is also high, meaning that the foundations for a strong ecommerce market are present. The largest issues faced by Swiss consumers are delivery speed, tech failure and/or complaints about an online order. However, the rates of annoyance are relatively low, with most below 5 percent”, it writes.

Invoice most popular payment method

Swiss online shoppers prefer to pay for their online purchases with invoices (44 percent), while PayPal and credit card payments complete the top three of most popular online payment methods. Digital wallets are scarcely used, they account for just 5 percent of payment methods used last year.