GfK: Swiss retail trade at a high level
For the 33rd time, GfK has published its report «Retail Switzerland,» which features key metrics and rankings on the Swiss retail and online sectors, as well as current trends.
In year one after the pandemic, retail trade sales by value again rose slightly at a high level to 102.6 billion Swiss francs. This is shown in the GfK publication "Retail Trade Switzerland", which examines the development of the retail trade in 2022. According to this, Swiss retail sales in 2022 increased by 300 million Swiss francs to a new 102.6 billion Swiss francs; this corresponds to an increase of 0.3 percent compared with the previous year.
Inflation is likely to have been a factor here, according to GfK. Influenced by the Ukraine conflict, input costs for energy, transport, packaging and logistics rose, in some cases massively, which also impacted consumer prices in stores and at gas stations.
In 2022, Swiss consumers purchased goods and merchandise online for 14 billion Swiss francs. This corresponds to a decrease of 0.4 billion Swiss francs or 2.8 percent compared with the previous year. In 2022, online consumption is down 2.4 percent on the previous year, while online purchases from abroad are down 5 percent. Online purchases from Swiss online stores (.ch domains) increased by 44 percent compared to 2019. In the home electronics/household appliances segment, every second franc is spent online.
The global economic environment remains challenging. On a positive note, the situation regarding energy prices has eased and the risk of severe recessionary scenarios such as interruptions in energy supply has decreased significantly. However, the outlook for the coming quarters and 2024 remains cautious.
