{"id":9177,"date":"2023-07-04T07:46:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T05:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eurotext.de\/en\/?p=9177"},"modified":"2023-07-12T08:19:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T06:19:47","slug":"e-commerce-in-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eurotext.de\/en\/blog\/e-commerce-in-switzerland\/","title":{"rendered":"E-commerce in Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Swiss e-commerce market<\/strong> is no longer a secret, insider tip. Located right on the EU\u2019s doorstep, and with purchasing power to spare, Switzerland is an extremely attractive market for European companies who are looking to expand. Moreover, Switzerland ranked number one in the UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index<\/strong>, which ranks countries according to their e-commerce readiness. However, there are a few challenges that you\u2019ll need to bear in mind when expanding to Switzerland, especially when it comes to customs duties.<\/p>\n Switzerland is a medium-sized country in the heart of Europe. It has a population of approximately 8.8 million<\/strong>, making it slightly smaller than Austria<\/a> in terms of residents. In terms of area, Switzerland is about the same size as the Netherlands<\/a>, with an area of 41,285 km\u00b2. This means that the density is approximately 213 people per km\u00b2<\/strong>. That puts it right between Germany and Italy<\/a> in population density.<\/p>\n Switzerland is Germany<\/a>\u2019s only neighbor that is neither part of the EU nor the European Economic Area<\/strong>. The official currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF), which is also the official currency in Liechtenstein. One Swiss Franc is divided into 100 Rappen.<\/p>\n Switzerland has an exceptionally high rate of internet penetration, with an estimated 98% of the population having internet access<\/strong>. Additionally, 76.5% of Swiss people own a smartphone, with this number steadily increasing. These are just a few of the reasons that Switzerland is currently considered the most e-commerce-ready country in the world.<\/p>\n The volume of the Swiss e-commerce market is expected to reach around 12.5 billion Euros in 2023<\/strong>. Experts predict continued growth<\/strong> in the coming years, at a rate of around 12%.<\/p>\n The typical Swiss e-commerce customer has considerable purchasing power, and average e-commerce revenue is expected to reach around 1,800 Euros per person<\/strong> in 2023. This is one of the highest e-commerce spending rates in Europe. Around 57% of Swiss people shop online at least once a month<\/strong>, and only 6% have never used the internet for shopping. Given the fact that the population of Switzerland continues to age, it is also worth noting that older adults are increasingly open to the internet. Currently, nearly 80% of seniors use the internet<\/strong>, and almost a third have made online purchases.<\/p>\n Traditionally, the Swiss e-commerce market has relied heavily on purchases from foreign countries<\/strong>. This is mainly due to the fact that prices in Switzerland are significantly higher than in neighboring states \u2014 between 35% and 97% higher, for some categories.<\/p>\n And the fact that Switzerland\u2019s three main languages are spoken in less-expensive, neighboring countries makes cross-border shopping quite easy. So it should come as no surprise that 103.7 million cross-border e-commerce shipments<\/strong> were imported to Switzerland in 2018 \u2014 an average of nearly 12 shipments per capita<\/strong>. Price is the main reason for cross-border shopping, but product availability is a major driving force as well.<\/p>\n Swiss customers do have to pay customs duties when purchasing from abroad, which reduces the price difference between domestic and foreign goods. However, there are ways to get around the customs duties, such as having packages delivered to pick-up points in border towns in Germany<\/a> or France<\/a>. But even when customers do pay customs duties and other transaction fees, the savings can still be considerable.<\/p>\n There are some large Swiss-based websites such as the online department store Galaxus.ch, the electronics retailer Digitec.ch, and the online auction house Ricardo.ch, that give the international giants a run for their money. Nonetheless, the usual suspects are also very popular here: amazon.de, eBay, and Zalando. Galaxus.ch is, in principle, similar to amazon.de, but has a much smaller selection of available products in comparison.<\/p>\n Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh<\/strong>. While almost all of the roughly 40,000 people who speak Romansh also speak Swiss German, it’s important to localize<\/a> your website for (Swiss) German, French and Italian when targeting this market. The German-speaking community is the largest, making up almost 62% of the Swiss population.<\/p>\n Swiss German has many local dialects, but they are generally used only in spoken language. For written communication, Standard Swiss German<\/strong> is almost always used. It\u2019s important to note that Swiss German has some differences in vocabulary and spelling compared to the standard German used in Germany and Austria. You will definitely want to localize your German-language website specifically for the Swiss target market.<\/p>\nFacts & Figures<\/h2>\n
Internet penetration and online purchasing habits<\/h2>\n
Cross-border commerce in Switzerland<\/h2>\n
Most popular e-commerce websites in Switzerland<\/h2>\n
Localization<\/h2>\n