E-Commerce in Switzerland – The Opportunities and the Challenges You May Face

At the heart of Europe, Switzerland is universally known for its chocolates and its watchmaking. At HiPay, we believe that the country should also be known for its e-commerce… Why? The answer in the infographic below.

With one of the largest European buying power, the Swiss population spend online in average each year €2,241. If the Swiss e-commerce market is only at the 10th position, it’s only due to its low population. With a population comparable to the French one, the country’s e-commerce would register a revenue higher than 149 billion euros, against 10.46 currently. Let’s remind that the French e-commerce revenue is about 72 billion euros…!

The main characteristic of the Swiss market is its appetence for cross-border purchases. 61% of Swiss orders are made on a foreign website. If you should only remember three advices before conquering this market: thing about free delivery, use the right language and most of all, adapt your payment offer (Swiss Franc is the operative currency, not Euro!).

To summarize: Swiss e-shoppers spend a lot online and are open to foreign websites, but the country does not count enough population to compete with the market’s leaders.

We’re a global payment provider processing more than €2bn annually across 150 countries and 220 payment types. By harnessing data analytics, we help deliver valuable customer insights that enable our clients’ businesses to succeed. More information at hipay.com | HiPay Group is listed on the Euronext Paris Compartment C (ISIN code: FR0012821916 – mnemo: HIPAY).