Swiss online retailers had a great year in 2019, as a survey by the news agency AWP shows.

Christmas business at the Coop's online retail subsidiary Microspot once again exceeded the previous year, which was also good, said a spokeswoman. Sales growth compared to the previous year was in the "clear double-digit range". For the Coop Group as a whole, however, Christmas business was "in line with the good previous year".

Brack, the online retailer belonging to the Competec Group, also reported significantly stronger growth for November and December than in previous years. "The increase is also higher than expected compared to the annual average," said a spokesperson.

Migros subsidiary Digitec Galaxus is a little more cagey: "We don't communicate exact figures for Christmas business." However, the company was able to make gains on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which are important indicators for Christmas business.

 

Online trend for toys too

Migros confirms the shift from bricks-and-mortar to online retail. According to a spokesperson, the orange giant recorded significant growth in the online area of its non-food range in 2019, while its bricks-and-mortar business declined at the same time.

Migros cites the toy industry as an example of this: while online retail has long been very important in the toy industry abroad, this trend is now also becoming clearly noticeable in Switzerland.

People were apparently also busy shopping in book retailing: Christmas business to date has been pleasing for Orell Füssli, it said. "We are slightly ahead of the previous year in terms of sales."

Business in the larger department stores was stable to slightly positive: At Loeb, Christmas business was on a par with the previous year, according to Loeb boss Ronald Christen. The Migros department store subsidiary Globus, which is up for sale, reported an increase in sales of around 2 percent.

 

Weather dampened buying mood

The stationary business was dampened somewhat by various factors. According to Migros, the daily constellation was better last year with a Sunday sale on December 23.

In addition, the weather did not allow any Christmas spirit to emerge for a long time. According to the Orell Füssli spokesperson, the relatively mild days initially dampened consumers' buying mood. Loeb also felt the effects of the mild weather when selling jackets and coats.

Meanwhile, online retailers are benefiting from the fact that promotional days such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles Day are becoming increasingly accepted by the public and are being supported by retailers on an ever wider scale, according to Brack.

On the other hand, there were no new toys or technology products worth mentioning this Advent: "No new must-have smartphones, no new games consoles," said a spokesperson. "And no new hype toys that absolutely had to be under the tree."

 

Lego and perfume

Consumers also tended to stick to the classics when it came to Christmas gifts. According to the retailers surveyed, perfumes, consumer electronics, smartphones and board games such as "Brändi Dog" were particularly popular. Lego and Playmobil are still the top sellers when it comes to toys. There was also a lot of hype surrounding the Pokémon brand.

Mr. and Mrs. Swiss are also sticking to the tried and tested traditions when it comes to food, as Coop and Migros report. Classics such as chinoise or cheese fondue, table grills and delicacies or "Schüfeli" are still served on these days. Smoked leeks and turkey are also popular.

 

Christmas bonuses and gift cards

The Christmas period continues to have an impact on retailers. For Orell Füssli, for example, the days up to January 3 still counted as Christmas business. Others have already started selling out.

Microspot, for example, already started this at Christmas. "That's why the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve are always strong sales days." This also remains the case in January, as many customers redeem the gift cards they received at Christmas. At Coop, New Year's Eve celebrations with friends and family also generate additional sales.

As Migros reports, many children are also spending their Christmas bucks these days, once again boosting toy sales. (SDA)

Reto Wäckerli has been working for AWP Financial News for five years, where he mainly writes about telecoms, technology and industry, but also about economic topics. Before that, he worked for the Winterthur Country Messenger most recently as Head of the Switzerland, Economy, Foreign Affairs department.

Wäckerli succeeds the long-standing Co-Editor-in-Chief Ueli Hoch. The latter is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief and taking on the new key position of "Chef Desk". In his new role, he will manage the day-to-day business of the news agency. Ueli Hoch was a member of AWP's editorial team for over twelve years.

"I would like to thank Ueli Hoch for his great services as Editor-in-Chief. Without him, AWP would not be where we are today," says Managing Director Christoph Gaberthüel. "Our editorial team has grown in recent years and is now one of the largest business editorial teams in Switzerland. I hope that the newly created role of "Chef Desk" will enable us to provide even faster and more in-depth reporting on the Swiss business and financial world."

New Co-Editor-in-Chief Reto Wäckerli is aware of the challenges of the coming years and sees significant opportunities in advancing digitalization. "We have to offer our users relevant content with a lot of added value every day," he says. "The technical possibilities in areas such as automation, data analysis and individualization can provide us with important support," Wäckerli continues.

AWP is the leading financial and business news agency in Switzerland. The editorial team of over 30 journalists publishes business news in German, French and Italian. Over 30,000 financial professionals in Switzerland and Liechtenstein use AWP News every day. AWP news can also be found on many online banking platforms and financial portals. In addition to its own news services, AWP produces the business service for the Keystone-SDA news agency and thus also reaches a large number of media clients.

Together with the branding agency Lumina, a cross-media campaign was conceived that picks up on terms from the business world. It aims to draw the attention of financial professionals and people interested in finance to the AWP brand. The campaign includes posters, advertisements and measures on social media platforms. The latter are being managed by the Xeit agency.

Responsible at Lumina: Tarja Zingg (Concept, Text, Creative Direction). Responsible at Xeit: Simon Künzler (Social Media).