The Swiss interactive retail sector showed solid growth of 7.5% in 2015 while pure online order volumes increased even stronger by 8.5%, with rising cross-border sales, according to the latest survey by Swiss e-commerce association VSV, conducted in cooperation with Swiss Post and market research firm GfK.
In 2015, online and mail order trade in Switzerland generated revenues worth CHF 7.2 billion (€6.6 billion), up from CHF 6.7 billion (€6.15 billion) in 2014.The proportion contributed by online sales rose to 89.6% with online sales reaching CHF 6.45 billion (€5.9 billion), up from 88% in 2014 when online sales generated CHF 5.9 billion (€5.4 billion).
Around 90% of all transactions are now made online, with 25% of those being made via mobile devices.
Comparing to 2010, the Swiss interactive trade grew by CHF 1.8 billion (excluding pick-up stations and purchases abroad) in 2015, while high-street retail sales declined by CHF 2.5 billion.
The best-selling product groups last year were again home electronics with sales worth CHF 1.68 billion, which equals a year-on-year increase of 15.1%. According to the survey, 26% of all consumer electronics volumes are now purchased online.
The second most popular product category includes fashion and footwear with sales reaching CHF 1.38 billion in 2015, up 3%, despite the strength of the Swiss franc and price reductions in Switzerland. Interestingly, Swiss shoppers also like to buy groceries online, with CHF 860 million spent on food, wine and coffee (capsules) last year, up 10.3% from CHF 780 million in 2014.
The survey further showed that the bulk of the interactive retail sales (CHF 5.3 billion) were generated by private consumers shopping from B2C companies in Switzerland. Furthermore, they spent CHF 800 million on auction platforms / marketplaces (C2C).
However, Swiss shoppers also increasingly buy from international online shops, with private consumers spending CHF 1.1 billion on purchases from foreign websites (B2C/C2C), which equals a strong increase of 22% compared to CHF 900 million in 2014. In addition, products valued at about CHF 250 million were picked up at foreign parcel stations after being ordered online, up 25% from CHF 200 million in 2014.
The online and mail order trade continues to grow faster than traditional retailing and now accounts for 7.5% of the overall retail trade in Switzerland, up from 6.8% in 2014, the VSV e-commerce association stated.
While online trade with groceries is quite a strong trend in Switzerland, food and ‘near’ food make up ‘only’ 1.8% of the overall sales in this category. In contrast, 14% of all ‘non-food’ products were bought online in 2015, against 12.3% in 2014, 11.5% in 2013 and 10.3% in 2012. The survey authors expect that 20% of non-food purchases will be made online by 2019 at the latest.
In terms of preferred payment methods, Swiss consumers still favour ‘purchase on account’, with 81% of shoppers choosing this option when buying goods online, despite the increasing number of online orders. In European comparison, this is the highest percentage compared to other countries. Around 13% of the Swiss online shoppers paid via credit card or Paypal last year, slightly up from 12% in 2014.
The online retailers that took part in the survey reduced their prices in Switzerland by an average of 6% in 2015, due to high price pressure, according to the study.
Looking ahead, the VSV expects increasing competition around the fastest and “most convenient” parcel delivery. “The high price pressure on the market results in price adjustments of similar goods with retailers trying to differentiate themselves through other services.”
The association also expects the above-average growth of online purchases from abroad to continue this year. “In 2015, the first wave of direct imports from China hit Switzerland. We assume that this trend will further increase in 2016 creating additional price pressure on the market,” VSV concluded.
