Swiss online retail is fighting strong competition from abroad. Chinese low-cost suppliers such as Temu and Shein in particular are now “stealing” a lot of business from local shops. According to estimates by Bernhard Egger, managing director of the Swiss Trade Association, foreign retailers have grabbed around one billion in sales per year.
“If you then take into account that the equivalent value would often be higher, we are up to three billion francs that Swiss retailers are missing,” he explained on Thursday at the Retail Forum at Zurich Airport. He sees the low-cost competition, especially from China, as a real danger for Swiss retailers.
However, especially for those who are involved in the trade in cheap and very cheap clothes. “For companies that have a higher-priced segment with better quality, these providers become less of a competition.”
Social commerce is becoming more important
Egger predicts “smart” growth for Swiss online retail next year and points to the online retail increase of around 10 percent in the last four years. However, retailers would have to adapt to changes in their sales channels.
According to Egger, social commerce, i.e. sales via social media, is becoming increasingly important. “TikTok will be the new Amazon,” he said. The social media provider, which is also Chinese, now offers the entire process for online retailers, from ordering to payment to logistics.
According to Egger, social commerce currently accounts for around 10 to 15 percent of online trading in Switzerland. “But we assume that this will increase to around a quarter. This topic will continue to concern us a lot,” says Egger.
Hybrides Shopping als Chance
In addition, the topic of hybrid shopping remains important. The common assumption that hybrid shopping – i.e. a mix between online and analogue shopping – leads to people looking at the goods in the store and then buying them online at the cheapest price is incorrect.
“We often see customers who first find out about a product online and then come into the store to see it in person and buy it,” he says. It is therefore particularly important for retailers to be able to present themselves as providers of this product while their potential customers are conducting online research. (awp/sda/cbe)
