EU is Amazon's most important export market for Swiss SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises from Switzerland generate the majority of their international sales on Amazon in the EU. According to the latest SME report, more than 900 Swiss SMEs sell their products through the platform, 40 percent of which are based in rural areas.
Swiss SMEs sell an average of eight products per minute on Amazon - the lion's share of them in the European Union (EU). This is according to the latest Amazon SME Report 2025. More than 900 small and medium-sized enterprises from Switzerland are now active on the platform.
High export rate in rural areas
According to the analysis, around 95% of Swiss SMEs exported their products abroad in 2024 and generated sales of more than CHF 133 million there. The EU accounted for over 95 million francs of this. The most important export countries were Germany, the USA, France, Spain and the UK.
It is worth noting that more than 40 percent of Swiss Amazon sales partners are based in rural or less densely populated regions. "SMEs play a particularly important role in rural areas. They are an important driver of innovation and the economic strength of a region," emphasizes Rico Baldegger, board member of the International Council for Small Businesses (ICSB).
Significance for the Swiss economy
Monika Rühl, CEO of economiesuisse, emphasizes the importance of SMEs: "They are the backbone of our Swiss economy. Sales channels with a wide reach such as Amazon help them to utilize their innovative strength and secure their competitiveness in a challenging environment."
Bernhard Egger, Managing Director of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss, emphasizes the importance of the EU internal market: "For Swiss companies that want to be successful in exports, access to the EU internal market is crucial. Distribution partners can facilitate market entry with their warehousing, shipping and returns management services."
Practical example from Muttenz
One example of successful export is the Functional Cosmetics Company from Muttenz. The seven-strong company sells products to combat heavy sweating. "We started small," recalls Managing Director Brice Ulich. "When the first online orders came in in 2007, we had to move the family car out of the garage so that we could use it as a warehouse." Today, the company generates 90 percent of its turnover abroad, mainly in Germany.
Yorck von Mirbach, Country Leader Amazon Switzerland, emphasizes the company's commitment: "Amazon and AWS have invested more than one billion Swiss francs in Switzerland since 2010, including more than 280 million Swiss francs in 2024." Amazon offers various programs to support SMEs, including Quickstart Online, Seller University and special advertising solutions for small budgets.
