The Swiss e-commerce ecosystem is growing every year. With the impact of cross-border shopping, Switzerland’s e-commerce volume continues to expand. In 2024, e-commerce sales reached 15 billion Swiss francs (CHF), equivalent to $17 billion.
Some data on the Swiss e-commerce ecosystem has been released by Swiss Post, the commerce.swiss Association, and the market research institute GfK. According to the report, Swiss online consumers purchased goods and products worth approximately 15 billion CHF ($17 billion) online in 2024. This figure represents a 3.5% annual increase.
The 18% increase in cross-border shopping, driven especially by small parcels from Asia, played a significant role in Switzerland’s e-commerce growth. In 2023, this segment had recorded a 10% increase.
Bernhard Egger, Director of the commerce.swiss Association, stated, “For Temu alone, we estimate 15 million packages and 900 million CHF in sales in 2024. Due to low pricing, the revenue loss in Swiss retail e-commerce is estimated at approximately 2.25 billion CHF ($2.55 billion).”
Three-quarters of Swiss youth shop online from Asia
According to research findings, Swiss Gen Z is turning to online stores in Asia. A survey on this topic reveals that three-quarters of Swiss Gen Z consumers shop from China-based platforms such as Temu or AliExpress.
Despite this, Swiss websites with the “.ch” domain, including giants like Zalando, continue to make up the majority of sales. The total sales of these platforms reached 12.3 billion CHF ($14 billion), but the growth rate remained at just 1%. Meanwhile, Digitec Galaxus maintained its position with an 18% annual revenue increase.
Popular Categories in the Swiss E-commerce Ecosystem
- The consumer electronics sector continues to hold the largest share of Swiss e-commerce with a 24% market share.
- This segment is followed by fashion at 16%.
- Home goods rank third with a 14% share.
- These three non-food sectors account for more than 50% of the Swiss e-commerce market.
- The food sector stands out with a 1% share, with wine and beverage sales particularly contributing to growth.
- The fashion sector experienced a 7% decline in sales in 2024, similar to the trend seen in 2023.
- The consumer electronics sector, following its strong years during the pandemic, remained in positive territory with just a 1% increase.
- E-commerce sales of food products continued to grow by 6%. However, the sector still constitutes a relatively small portion (3.1%) of the total market.
The authors of the Swiss e-commerce report expect that consolidation in the retail sector will largely be completed by 2025. The improvement in consumer sentiment is projected to drive online retail sales growth between 4% and 7%.
