The Swiss interactive retail sector showed solid growth of 7.2% in 2014 while pure online ordervolumes increased even more strongly by 10.2%, according to the latest survey by Swiss e-commerce
association VSV, conducted in cooperation with Swiss Post and market research firm GfK.In 2014, online and mail order trade in Switzerland generated revenues worth CHF 6.7 billion(€6.3 billion).The proportion contributed by online sales rose to 88% with online sales reachingCHF 5.9 billion (€5.5 billion). This equals a year-on-year increase of 10.6%, compared to CHF 5.35billion (€5 billion) in 2013. Around 15% of all online orders were made via mobile devices, withmobile commerce increasingly gaining ground.
The best-selling product groups last year were home electronics with sales worth CHF 1.46billion. According to the survey, 24% of all consumer electronics volumes are purchased online. Thesecond most popular product category includes fashion and footwear with sales reaching CHF 1.34billion in 2014. Interestingly, Swiss shoppers also like to buy groceries online, with CHF 780million spent on food last year.
The survey further showed that the bulk of the interactive retail sales (CHF 4.95 billion) weregenerated by private consumers shopping from B2C companies in Switzerland. Furthermore, they spentCHF 850 million on auction platforms / marketplaces (C2C). The remaining purchases (CHF 900million) were made by Swiss shoppers from foreign websites (B2C/C2C).
Interestingly, cross-border online trade with deliveries from Switzerland is increasing aboveaverage. According to the Swiss retailers grouping IG DHS, in 2013 products valued at CHF 200million were picked up at foreign parcel stations after being ordered online from Swiss websites.No data are available for 2014, but the value is estimated to be about the same.
The online and mail order trade continues to grow faster than the traditional trade and nowaccounts for 6.8% of the overall retail trade in Switzerland, the VSV e-commerce associationstated.
While online trade with groceries is quite a strong trend in Switzerland, food and ‘near’ foodmake up ‘only’ 1.7% of the overall sales in this category. In contrast, 12.3% of all ‘non-food’products were bought online in 2014, against 11.5% in 2013 and 10.3% in 2012.
In terms of preferred payment methods, Swiss consumers still favour ‘purchase on account’, with84% of shoppers choosing this option when buying good online. In European comparison, this is thehighest percentage compared to other countries. Around 12% of the Swiss online shoppers paid viacredit card or Paypal last year.
Looking ahead, the nominal interactive retail growth in Switzerland is expected to slow down in2015, due to the euro/Swiss franc exchange rate adjustments caused by the removal of the cap on thevalue of the Swiss franc against the euro by the Swiss National Bank in January this year. TheSwiss franc has been climbing up against the euro since then.
In addition, the VSV expects traditional retail trade to further align with online trade andorders via mobile devices to increase. At the same time, shoppers have become increasinglydemanding expecting ever faster deliveries and this tendency is estimated to sharpen as well.
