Singles Day: Swiss retailers lose market share to Chinese platforms
While a majority of Swiss consumers prefer to shop at domestic retailers, an increasing number of Swiss retailers are pulling out of Singles' Day. Chinese retailers such as AliExpress, Temu, and Shein are benefiting from this trend, boosting Swiss e-commerce sales to around 70 million francs.
Singles Day on November 11 is the biggest shopping event in the world and far outstrips Black Friday sales. In Switzerland, however, the day continues to lose relevance for online retailers, while Chinese providers are fully committed to it. Swiss online retailers are expected to turn over around 70 million francs on this year's Singles Day - an increase of around five million francs compared to the previous year.
Customer preference for Swiss stores is ignored
According to a representative survey conducted by the DemoSCOPE institute on behalf of blackfridaydeals.ch around a quarter of the Swiss population stores exclusively at Swiss retailers during the major shopping events. Overall, a clear majority prefer domestic retailers. Only just six percent of respondents have a clear preference for foreign providers.
Despite this customer preference, more and more Swiss retailers are withdrawing from Singles Day. In doing so, they are foregoing potential additional sales, while at the same time Chinese providers are gaining market share and sales are being realized abroad instead of in Switzerland.
Chinese platforms on the rise
The reason for the growth in sales lies primarily in the growing presence of Chinese platforms such as AliExpress, Temu and Shein, which accompany the event with aggressive prices, discount promotions and elaborate marketing campaigns. The popularity of these three retailers in Switzerland is often underestimated: AliExpress, Temu and Shein are already among the 15 top-selling online stores in this country.
A particularly clear signal of this development: Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com is about to take over MediaMarkt's parent company Ceconomy. This will give it access to physical sales locations in Switzerland and Europe.
Trade conflict as a price driver
Weak consumer sentiment in China and the ongoing trade conflict between China and the USA are forcing Chinese suppliers to bring more products to Europe. "The tariff war is increasing price pressure and could lead to even lower prices and better offers on Singles Day this year, which is good for consumers. In the long term, however, this development poses a threat to Swiss retailers," says retail expert Julian Zrotz from blackfridaydeals.ch.
In China, the bargain event is accompanied by live streams, concerts and countless promotions. Singles Day is not equally established in Switzerland. Those who do take part usually offer symbolic discounts of 11 or 22 percent on parts of the product range - an allusion to the date 11.11. The only exception is the telecoms sector, where strong offers can already be expected on Singles Day.
