The most popular online stores in Switzerland revealed
By Jan de Boer
A new report from consulting firm Carpathia has revealed the most popular online stores in Switzerland. The top three were found to have earned four billion francs in 2023, with tech and fashion firms being the most popular on the internet.
Online shopping in Switzerland is here to say
After recording significant profits during the COVID pandemic, online stores are now a regular part of life in Switzerland. This is reflected in the figures: last year, the profits of "a third of the top 30 have declined, two-thirds have stagnated or increased," Carpathia noted.
The top 10 most popular online stores recorded turnovers of over 7,8 billion francs last year. Of these, the most profitable remain those that focus on technology and fashion.
Zalando is the most popular online shop in Switzerland
In 2023, German shoe, fashion and beauty brand Zalando was the most popular online store in Switzerland. The company, based in Berlin, earned 1,65 billion Swiss francs last year, a 100 million franc decline compared to 2022.
Founded in 2008 and launched in Switzerland in 2011, the brand is also Europe’s largest online fashion retailer, employing over 15.000 workers. Last year, the company earned over 10 billion euros worldwide.
However, the fast fashion firm has come in for criticism in the past regarding how it handles returns - in 2021, half of Zalando's orders were returned. While the international company claims to re-sell 97 percent of returned clothing, a report from German TV channel SWK and the newspaper Die Zeit found that returns are often shipped thousands of kilometres across the world before being reused, while others are simply being shredded and recycled.
Migros firms Digitec and Galaxus earn over 2 billion francs a year
In what will be good news for Switzerland’s orange giant, two Migros tech subsidiaries occupied the rest of the podium for 2023. Galaxus took second with a turnover of 1,35 billion francs, followed by Digitec with 1,05 billion. The Swiss supermarket itself placed 10th.
The only newcomer in the top 10 was Temu, an online marketplace selling products at bargain basement prices. In just its first year of operations, Temu posted a turnover of 350 million francs, propelling it to ninth place at the first time of asking.
In June 2024, the Swiss Retail Federation confirmed that it was filing a complaint against the Chinese-owned company, arguing it uses fake discounts and illusions of scarcity in order to sell its products. However, this doesn't seem to have to put off Swiss shoppers.
10 most popular online stores in Switzerland
In all, here are the 10 most popular online retailers in Switzerland (by turnover in Swiss francs):
- Zalando (1,65 billion)
- Galaxus (1,35 billion)
- Digitec (1,05 billion)
- Amazon (952 million)
- Ricardo (800 million)
- Brack (545 million)
- Nespresso (400 million)
- AliExpress (390 million)
- Temu (350 million)
- Migros (344 million)
To see which other online retailers made the list, check out the official website.
Thumb image credit: nitpicker / Shutterstock.com
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more