The latest edition of the Distance Selling Monitor for Switzerland - a monthly survey of 113 online retailers in Switzerland carried out by GfK in cooperation with the Swiss Post Office and the Swiss Retail Association - reports continued high online sales for the third quarter of 2020, although brick-and-mortar stores were generally open during the period. Their cumulative online sales went up by 32.9 percent in the first nine months of 2020, exceeding a previously forecast growth of 30 percent for the full year.
The “Home & Living” segment was named as the winner in online retailing, with growth of over 80 percent year-on-year, followed by “Leisure / Sport / Toys” and “Sport / Sports Equipment,” each with growth of over 67 percent.
For the first six months of this year, the study had already shown an overall increase of 35.4 percent for online retailing. Based on the latest data and in view of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fourth quarter is expected to break all previous records in Swiss online retailing. “Even an increase of 40 percent could be within the realm of possibility if capacities are maintained, supply chains remain stable and, above all, logistics efficiency can be maintained at a high level for both retailers and partners in the sorting and delivery sector with all the preparations and protective measures in place,” concludes the survey.
The target appears to be within reach considering that a couple of cantons have introduced lockdown measures and that Black Friday and similar online promotions are scheduled for this month.
Based on the researchers’ assumptions, the reported sales volume of the 113 online retailers surveyed will amount to around 5 billion Swiss francs (€4.6bn-$5.4bn), representing around 50 percent of the Swiss online retail market.
