E-Commerce Report Switzerland 2020 – Uninterrupted growth trend for online retail.
Datatrans and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland present the E-Commerce Report Switzerland 2020.
Zurich, 1 July 2020
Strong internet shopping trend continues: Swiss consumers spent 10 billion Swiss francs online in 2019. E-commerce volume is up by 8%. Almost all study participants anticipate further growth in 2020. COVID-19 has boosted e-commerce further and this year’s results could well be three times as high as in 2019.
The comprehensive survey of Switzerland’s 35 leading online and multichannel providers has confirmed that web shops have been the beneficiaries of the eight-week lockdown. «Based on the data available at the beginning of June 2020, we expect annual growth to be between 22% and 30%, or between twice and three times as high as last year», explains study director Professor Ralf Wölfle, summing up the findings.
Growth of foreign platforms decelerates.
Viewed over the past five years, foreign providers grew at twice the speed of those based in Switzerland. The roles have been reversed this year. Whether the tide has turned for good remains to be seen. Swiss providers’ growth expectations are high. Nobody is anticipating that business will stagnate or fall.
Offline and online channels are amalgamating where it makes sense to do so.
«Anyone who wants to survive in the new networked world of commerce must ensure that their products and services are in the right place at the right time for their target customers» explains Datatrans Board Member Urs Kisling. «Separating the analogue and digital worlds no longer makes sense.» Providers are increasingly combining a range of channels to make it as easy as possible for consumers to access and buy their goods and services. E-commerce is becoming simply commerce.
Social media goes e-commerce.
The ways in which smart, networked commerce can work are being demonstrated by the growth in mobile commerce formats and increasing sales through social media. Platforms are adding Buy buttons and introducing new payment functions, which merchants are using while also uploading entire product catalogues to networks such as WhatsApp. And they are being successful,as Urs Kisling explains: «When it comes to mobile commerce, the providers who are focusing on user experience and customer service are making the most gains.»
E-commerce growth trends to remain stable over next five years.
The study panel have high expectations for growth in e-commerce over the next five years. Two thirds of those surveyed assume that their sector’s e-commerce sales will have risen by 50% or more by 2025. Nobody is anticipating that their business will stagnate or fall.
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About the E-Commerce Report Switzerland
Since 2009, the E-Commerce Report Switzerland has been investigating the value of, and changes and trends in consumer sales, and is the only such study series written from the perspective of the providers. Study participants are surveyed on behalf of Datatrans by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW).
Topics covered include
- Corona – a boost for digitalizationr
- Individual web shops or platforms – who is setting the pace?
- Staying competitive in the networked world of commerce (focus for 2020)
Participants
- 35 of Switzerland’s leading online and multichannel providers of consumer goods and services with a combined e-commerce sales volume of over CHF 6 billion.
Free download
www.commerce-report.ch/downloads
Contact
Professor Ralf Wölfle, Study Director
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW)
Director of Research for E-Business
061 279 17 55, ralf.woelfle@fhnw.ch
Urs Kisling, Board Member, Datatrans AG
044 256 81 91, urs.kisling@datatrans.ch