eMarketer Debuts Estimates for Ecommerce in Switzerland

Switzerland has one of the highest digital buyer penetration rates in the world, according to eMarketer’s first-ever retail ecommerce forecast for the country. More than three-quarters of the population will shop online in 2018.

It’s not surprising that consumers in Switzerland, a wealthy country with one of the more mature markets in terms of internet usage, are willing and able to make digital purchases. Retail ecommerce sales in the country will total $8.08 billion this year, up 5.2% over 2017. However, ecommerce sales will represent just 5.0% of total retail sales, putting Switzerland behind many similar markets. This is due in large part to consumers’ fondness for cross-border buying.

As Switzerland is geographically close to a number of larger ecommerce markets such as France and Germany, and cross-border shopping is relatively straightforward, we do not expect retail ecommerce sales in Switzerland to increase dramatically in the coming years. By 2022, ecommerce will account for 5.7% of all retail sales in Switzerland.

“Consumers in Switzerland, one of the world’s wealthiest counties, are increasingly deciding to spend their online francs abroad,” said Eric Haggstrom, junior forecasting analyst at eMarketer. “This trend will continue into the future as investments flow to ecommerce platforms in France and Germany that have better selection and better prices.”